Extremely close Mississippi Senate race likely headed to court
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race → head → court
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which represents Hyde-Smith in legal matters, sent a letter to all 82 county election officials in Mississippi requesting provisional ballots be segregated from regular and absentee ballots.
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ballots → represent → ballots
(The Center Square) — The race for U.S. Senate in Mississippi is expected to end in a legal challenge as officials across the state continue to count ballots in the razor-thin contest.
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officials → expect → contest
Incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Democratic candidate Scott Colom are locked in a tight race for a seat that could lend greater strength to seismic Democratic wins in the upper chamber of Congress.
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that → lock → Congress
Colom leads Hyde-Smith with 49% of the vote and 96% of votes counted at the time of publication, according to the Associated Press.
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Colom → lead → Press
Several thousand provisional ballots are expected to be counted in the race, while election officials have until Nov. 10 to resolve qualifications for those ballots.
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officials → expect → ballots
Voters can cast a provisional ballot if their qualifications to vote cannot be verified on Election Day.
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qualifications → cast → Day
Provisional ballots must contain an envelope with the voter’s written and signed name.
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ballots → contain → name
In Mississippi, provisional ballots are often referred to as “affidavit ballots.”
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ballots → refer → ballots
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which represents Hyde-Smith in legal matters, sent a letter to all 82 county election officials in Mississippi requesting provisional ballots be segregated from regular and absentee ballots.
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ballots → represent → ballots
The committee also asked for officials to keep records on the status of all collected ballots and to preserve custody records for the ballots.
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officials → ask → ballots
“As the democratic process continues to play out, we are committed to ensuring that every single lawful ballot is accurately counted and the voices of all Mississippians are heard,” said NRSC Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell in a statement.
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Cantrell → continue → statement
Legal analysts said it is unclear whether election officials in Mississippi can comply with Republicans' request.
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officials → say → request
Mississippi is one of a few states that does not have a recount mechanism or election challenge when addressing congressional races.
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that → have → races
Candidates can, however, challenge whether certain ballots can be included in a race’s tabulation under federal or state law.
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ballots → challenge → law
Hyde-Smith and the NRSC appear to be gearing up for a challenge to the provisional ballots with Thursday’s letter.
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Smith → appear → letter
“Completion of those separation and preservation processes does not eliminate applicable retention obligations.
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Completion → eliminate → obligations
Federal law independently requires covered federal-election records to be retained and preserved for 22 months from the date of the election,” NRSC lawyers wrote in a letter to election officials.
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lawyers → require → officials
“Implementation must not delay lawful tabulation, prevent the counting of any legally cast ballot, or compromise ballot secrecy.”
Jessica Taylor, an analyst at The Cook Political Report, said votes appear to be trending in Colom’s favor as tabulation continues.
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tabulation → delay → favor
“I think that the trajectory that it's on again unless there were some sort of court to overturn some of these ballots, I expect [Colom] to win,” Taylor said in a briefing with The Center Square.
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Taylor → think → Square
Colom's victory, combined with a potential win from Mary Peltola in Alaska, could lead to a 56-seat Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate.
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victory → combine → Senate
Democratic leaders have also sent lawyers to Mississippi in preparation for a legal challenge to the election results.
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leaders → send → results
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said she felt confident about the result in Mississippi.
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she → say → Mississippi
"Every time we have votes coming in in Mississippi, you see Scott Colom getting more and more votes.
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Colom → have → votes
So I feel confident there,” Cortez Masto told Semafor.
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Masto → feel → Semafor
Mike Hurst, chair of the Mississippi Republican Party, said the state would work to certify the election, regardless of results.
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state → say → results
“There is no election-denying going on here,” Hurst told reporters.
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Hurst → be → reporters
“If the laws are followed and the voters spoke, Mississippi Republicans will have to accept that.”
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Republicans → follow → that
Mississippi must certify its election results by Dec. 10.
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Mississippi → certify → Dec.
The Aporia
