Mississippi Ballot Rules Put Voters Through Hoops

Dajia Williams brought her ID to vote in Hinds County, but poll workers couldn’t find her name and an election official still sent her to circuit court to show the ID again. She’d updated her driver’s license and voter registration in May after moving to the county, and had voted in the 2024 primary and presidential elections. Now her ballot sits in a system where officials decide whether provisional votes count.

“I don't feel like people should have to feel like they're jumping through hoops to to go vote, especially in Mississippi,” Williams told CNN. “A lot of people don't even know what an affidavit or a provisional ballot is.” Her experience lands amid a close Senate race: Democrat Scott Colom held a lead of about 1,800 votes late Thursday over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, while thousands of provisional ballots remained under review.

Who Gets to Count

Mississippi calls provisional ballots “affidavit” ballots. Voters cast them when they lack photo identification or don’t appear in their precinct poll books. Volunteers are now contacting voters who failed to provide identification and urging them to bring proper documents to county courthouses before the November 10 deadline to resolve problems at the county level.

NAACP members and volunteers are monitoring election officials in all 82 counties. “Our interest is no individual, particularly African Americans, disenfranchised in this process because of lack of ID,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson told CNN. The state has not sent a Black person to the Senate since Reconstruction, and has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly 40 years.

The number of ballots still to be counted remains uncertain. Colom campaign officials estimated earlier in the week that 15,000 remained; Republicans estimated Thursday afternoon that as many as 20,000 absentee and provisional ballots were outstanding. Secretary of State Michael Watson said the total was unknown. Mississippi must certify the results by December 3, and the count could determine the size of the Democrats' Senate majority next year.

In Hinds County, which includes Jackson, commissioners publicly sort through hundreds of affidavit ballots. One commissioner had more than 600 to review and was working Thursday through 233 ballots from Jackson State University students. Hinds County Election Commissioner Felicia McClinton said she had rejected some because the students weren’t registered in the correct precinct. In one case, after searching a student’s birthday, name and Social Security number, she couldn’t locate the student in the system. “This will be rejected,” she told CNN as Colom campaign representatives watched and took notes.

Lawyers, Observers and Ballot Secrecy

The candidates have assembled teams to observe and potentially challenge ballot-counting procedures. The state Republican Party said Thursday it had sent more than 50 volunteer attorneys and observers across Mississippi. Democratic lawyers and Republican lawyers also exchanged letters about how officials should handle ballots and records.

The law firm representing Hyde-Smith asked local officials to keep affidavit ballots separate from the rest of the count and preserve other election records. Colom’s lawyers called the request “unlawful” and warned officials against steps that could allow “a particular ballot to be traced to a particular voter,” which they said would violate ballot-secrecy laws. County election committees make public decisions on whether to accept or reject provisional ballots, though advocates say transparency varies by county.

Colom said Wednesday, “We were prepared for this for months. We have an army of lawyers. We have local lawyers. We have everybody involved to make sure the process is followed according to the law.” The state Republican Party’s Chair Michael Hurst said its attorneys and observers would watch election commissioners review ballots and ensure that only ballots legally cast are counted.

The Count’s Uneven Ground

Mississippi Votes, a nonpartisan civic organization, set up a voter-information hotline and virtual phone banking to answer questions about the ballot-curing process. Lily Moens, Mississippi Votes' policy and research director, said her team was hearing that most rejected ballots involved voters who went to the wrong precinct. “It's disheartening to see folks' ballots being rejected because they were just at the wrong location,” she said.

Fair Fight Action, a voting-rights political organization founded by Stacey Abrams, is working with the Colom campaign and the DSCC. The Elias Law Group, a voting-rights law firm aligned with Democrats and representing the Colom campaign, increased its attention to Mississippi election procedures in early 2026. Its Election Protection Intelligence Collaborative monitored state media, local election commission meetings and election administration practices. The firm’s lawyers began arriving Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recently sent lawyers and resources to the state, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

Jess Craven, a progressive activist and content creator, traveled from Los Angeles to Jackson this week at the NAACP’s invitation. “It's not just about picking up another seat,” Craven said. “It's about a seismic event in the South that's long overdue.”

Colom said he expected his lead to grow as more ballots were counted. “You look at the ballots that are left, you know, it's going in our favor,” he said Thursday. He said it took months to draw attention from his party and the country to the race, and that he had “enough” resources, including money raised in a late fundraising drive. “I'm confident about where we are,” he said. “I'm glad people are doing what it takes to get us over the finish line.”