HYDE THE BALL

Republicans Float Vote Rigging in Desperate Ploy to Save Red Seat

The GOP senator is trailing in Mississippi as votes are being counted in tight race.

Republicans revealed their next potential move in the fight over Mississippi’s Senate seat as Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith trails her Democratic opponent Scott Colom.

The Democratic Senate candidate has grown his lead to 1,724 votes over the GOP senator as of Thursday afternoon, as election officials continue counting ballots in the tight race.

Officials are counting provisional ballots from the election, which were cast by voters who could not submit a regular ballot.

The state also allows mail ballots up to five days after the election, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.

On Thursday, lawyers on behalf of the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent letters to election officials in all 82 Mississippi counties warning them to separate and preserve all provisional ballots, also known as affidavit ballots.

While the letters did not mention tampering, the move suggests Republicans’ next effort could involve questioning the validity of individual ballots as they try to claw back the lead in a state as results trend in Democrats’ favor.

The two-page letters demanded that the affidavit ballots cast in the November 3 election be immediately separated and preserved.

The letter argues that the move is necessary “to ensure that each affidavit ballot’s eligibility for counting and ultimate disposition can be verified.”

It also notes specifics of Mississippi law: each ballot “must be sealed in an envelope bearing the voter’s written and signed affidavit and name, and affidavit voters must be recorded in a separate receipt book.”

“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.

But Colom’s campaign blasted the NRSC’s letter.

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

MISSISSIPPI MATTERS

Dem Declares Shock Red State Victory and Dares MAGA to Sue

Sarah Ewall-Wice

While there is no evidence at this stage to suggest that ineligible ballots have been counted, Republicans under Donald Trump have repeatedly worked to undermine confidence in election results they have not liked in recent years.

Lawyers from both parties have flocked to the state as the process to determine the winner of the Mississippi Senate race plays out.

A Colom win would be a major upset in the once deep-red state. Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982.

The race was not considered a top pickup opportunity for national Democrats who largely invested in other more competitive states. Only in the final stretch did some groups really start spending as polls showed the race tightening.

On Wednesday, as he led by only a few dozen votes, Colom insisted that he was confident that when all the eligible votes were counted, he would be the next senator of Mississippi.

His campaign said about 15,000 affidavits needed to be counted. Voters can fill out an affidavit ballot for an election for several reasons that prevent them from submitting a regular ballot.

Issues that would result in a provisional ballot include someone not showing up on a voter registration list or a voter not having required identification with them when they show up, so they would then have to remedy it for their vote to count.

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These ballots must be processed during the 10-day certification period to count. Volunteers and lawyers have been observing the process as it plays out.

The situation in Mississippi is also unusual because the state, unlike other ones, does not have an automatic recount mechanism that kicks in when a race is tight.

At the same time, Hyde-Smith’s team has also insisted when the votes are fully counted, they expect her to be the winner.

“We believe thousands of votes remain to be counted from dozens of Republican counties, and we are confident those votes will reinforce her path to victory,” a post from her X account read.

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Sarah Ewall-WicePolitical Reporter

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