Mississippi Ballots Face Cure Process Due to Voter Roll Issues

The outcome of Mississippi's Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith could depend on the resolution of thousands of ballots with technical issues. These ballots, known as affidavit ballots, are being reviewed as part of a process called curing.

As of Wednesday evening, an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 such ballots were still pending. Errors on ballots are routine and can often be corrected through a process known as curing.

Voters who cast an affidavit ballot due to lacking photo ID or other issues have until November 10 to provide acceptable identification or sign an affidavit. Counties must certify their election results by November 13.

The primary cause of many affidavit ballots is that voters were marked 'inactive' due to a new vendor's unreliable data. This led to voters being required to cast affidavit ballots and provide identifying information. Election officials then determine if the ballot can be counted.

Affidavit ballots may be rejected if the voter is not registered in the county where they voted, if the ballot envelope was not signed, or if the ballot was cast in a precinct not associated with their address. The ACLU of Mississippi is monitoring the curing process and encourages voters to follow up with local officials to ensure their ballots are counted.

Mississippi Votes' policy director noted that many voters cast ballots at the wrong precinct due to changes in election sites. These ballots cannot be cured if the voter is registered at another location. Voters must be informed if their ballot is rejected and provided with information on how to check its status.