Colom leads Hyde-Smith by 65 votes as Mississippi count continues

Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 65 votes Wednesday as Mississippi election officials continued counting ballots in a Senate race that could take days to resolve. The margin was up from 28 votes early Wednesday and 43 later that morning, Talking Points Memo reported.

More than 97% of the estimated vote had been counted by 1 p.m., according to Talking Points Memo. NBC’s Decision Desk estimated at 2 p.m. that roughly 44,000 ballots remained to be counted, the outlet reported. Colom and Hyde-Smith campaign manager Jake Monssen each said there were “thousands” of outstanding ballots, though the exact number was unclear.

The remaining votes include ballots from counties favoring each candidate. Talking Points Memo reported estimates of 9,000 outstanding votes in Hinds County, where Colom led by more than 61 percentage points, and 6,000 in Rankin County, where Hyde-Smith led by more than 25 points. An estimated 2,400 votes remained in Madison County, where Colom’s lead was less than a point, and 4,200 in Harrison County, where Hyde-Smith led by 3.7 points.

Mail and affidavit ballots could also affect the outcome. About 6,000 mail ballots had been distributed but not returned as of Monday, according to secretary of state data cited by NBC News; that figure does not establish how many will arrive and be counted. Mississippi accepts mail ballots postmarked by Election Day if they arrive by 5 p.m. Nov. 10. More than 116,000 absentee ballots were cast before Election Day, according to the Mississippi Free Press, as cited by Talking Points Memo.

The number of outstanding affidavit ballots is also uncertain. Colom’s campaign said as many as 15,000 remained, according to Mississippi Today, as cited by Talking Points Memo. Such ballots can be used when a voter is not on the rolls or lacks the required ID. Voters who need to present ID have until Nov. 10 to do so.

Mikell Bolden, the Mississippi Democratic Party’s executive director, told NBC News the party’s election hotline received about 2,000 calls Tuesday, including from voters who said they had been required to cast affidavit ballots despite believing they were registered. Bolden said the secretary of state’s website had crashed, preventing those voters from checking their status. The party and Colom campaign are contacting voters to help resolve ballot issues before the deadline, he said.

“We’re prepared to litigate, though we were prepared for this for months,” Colom, a local prosecutor, said Wednesday. Monssen said Hyde-Smith’s campaign was closely monitoring the count and remained confident she would win. The National Republican Senatorial Committee said it was committed to ensuring every lawful ballot was counted accurately.

Mississippi has no automatic recount for a general election. Talking Points Memo reported that a recount could follow a court order in a legal challenge; NBC News reported that candidates can also seek to examine ballot boxes county by county. County officials must transmit results to the secretary of state by Nov. 13.

Colom’s victory would give Mississippi its first Black senator since Reconstruction and its first Democratic senator since 1982, according to Talking Points Memo. Democrats have already secured a Senate majority without the seat, NBC News reported.