Hyde-Smith campaign seeks preservation of affidavit ballots

Mississippi Senate Race Hangs by 1,724 Votes as Campaigns Battle Affidavit Ballots

With the Mississippi U.S. Senate race too close to call, lawyers for Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith have scrambled to secure every potential vote in a contest that could tip the balance of power in Washington. The campaign sent an urgent letter Thursday to all state election officials, demanding the immediate separation, secure custody, and preservation of every affidavit ballot cast in the razor-thin November 3rd election, WLOX reported.

The move shows the immense stakes in a race where Democrat challenger Scott Colom currently leads by just 1,724 votes. Colom holds 466,226 votes, or 49%, to Hyde-Smith’s 464,502, or 48.9%, with an estimated 95.6% of votes counted. This margin means thousands of ballots—including affidavit votes cast by individuals whose eligibility was not immediately confirmed at the polls—could ultimately decide who represents Mississippi in the Senate.

A Legal Maneuver in a Neck-and-Neck Contest

The letter, shared with ABC by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is a standard procedure in exceptionally close elections, but its timing and specificity highlight the campaign’s strategy. Hyde-Smith’s legal team cited Mississippi Code § 23-15-911, a law that mandates strict post-election handling of ballots, to argue that the campaign is entitled to the “preservation in an unaltered and identifiable state” of every affidavit ballot.

The request is not a demand to stop the count. Instead, it asks county election commissioners and circuit clerks to maintain these ballots separate from regular and absentee ballots, document each one’s disposition, and preserve all associated materials and custody records. According to WLBT, the letter specifies these measures must remain in place “through completion of the canvass, certification, and any ballot box examination, election contest, runoff, or other authorized post-election activity.”

Hyde-Smith campaign seeks preservation of affidavit ballots — Photo: wlbt.com

Under Mississippi law, an affidavit ballot must be sealed in an envelope bearing the voter’s written and signed affidavit and name, then recorded in a separate receipt book. The county is responsible for verifying these envelopes and counting the ballots that are found to be legally cast.

The Campaign’s Confident Stand

In a press conference outside the Hinds County Courthouse, Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst defended the letter as a necessary step to ensure the law is followed. He emphasized the party’s goal is to prevent the “accidental or purposeful” destruction of evidence in a race this close, WLBT noted.

press conference Thursday afternoon

Hyde-Smith’s campaign, meanwhile, is banking on a late surge of votes from Republican-heavy counties. In a Facebook post, her team expressed confidence that “thousands of votes remain to be counted” and would “reinforce her path to victory.” The post also signaled an expectation of legal challenges from the opposing side, stating, “We expect Democratic lawyers to pull out every stop, and we are prepared.”

“This desperate stunt from national Republicans is what you do when you know you’re about to lose a race. We’re confident when every lawful ballot is counted, Scott Colom will be Mississippi’s next U.S. senator.”

That’s the response from Democrat Scott Colom’s campaign manager, Gerard Henderson, who dismissed the letter as a political ploy. The Colom campaign maintains its lead is secure and that the focus should remain on counting the remaining ballots accurately and fairly.