News · Jackson
"Secretary of state gives midday update on Senate count"
Mississippi Secretary of State's Office
Secretary of State Michael Watson delivered a midday video update Wednesday on Mississippi's U.S. Senate count, saying 77 counties have uploaded uncertified results and 23 of the state's 82 counties have uploaded certified results.
Counties must certify their results by Friday. Election officials have processed 18,915 affidavit ballots statewide, and about 2,300 mail-in absentee ballots are still outstanding. Absentee ballots are counted if they are received within five business days after the election and accepted by the county resolution boards.
Watson also pushed back on a widely shared claim that more than 230,000 voters were removed from Mississippi's rolls. He said the figure is the total number of voters in inactive status, a count that has built up over roughly four years of routine list maintenance under federal law. Only county election commissioners and circuit clerks can change a voter's registration status, he said, and voters marked inactive remain on the rolls.
The secretary of state's office posts updated count figures in its afternoon report. In the Senate race between Scott Colom and Cindy Hyde-Smith, Colom held a lead of about 4,400 votes in the latest Associated Press tally. No winner has been called.
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