What Is an Affidavit Ballot? Why Thousands of Mississippi Votes Could Decide the Senate Race

In Mississippi's Senate race, the winner may be decided by ballots that no one counted on election night.

Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by fewer than 1,800 votes as of Thursday, with roughly 96% of the expected vote counted and no call from the Associated Press. The outcome now depends on two groups of ballots: mail ballots still arriving, and a larger pile known as affidavit ballots.

What an affidavit ballot is

An affidavit ballot is Mississippi's term for a provisional ballot. A voter casts one when there is a question about their eligibility at the polling place. The most common reasons are that the voter does not have an acceptable photo ID, that the person's name does not appear on the poll book, or that they went to the wrong precinct.

Instead of being fed into the counting machine, the ballot is sealed in an envelope with a signed affidavit. It is set aside until election officials can check whether the voter was eligible.

How the ballot gets counted

1. The voter casts the ballot. Mississippi requires photo ID. A voter without one is asked to vote by affidavit.
2. The cure window. A voter who lacked ID has five business days to take an acceptable photo ID to the county circuit clerk's office, or sign a religious-objection affidavit. If they do not, the ballot is not counted. Acceptable IDs include a driver's license, a state ID card, a U.S. passport, a tribal ID or a student ID from a Mississippi college. Voters who cast an affidavit ballot for other reasons do not need to go back.
3. County review. County election commissioners verify that the person is a registered voter and that the ballot was cast in the right precinct. They are required to make those decisions in open public meetings.
4. Certification. Commissioners must process the ballots and certify results within 10 days of the election, which this year means November 13.

Under state law, officials must count an affidavit ballot if the voter was registered in the precinct, the voter and poll manager properly signed the envelope, and the voter provided acceptable ID in time, according to Democracy Docket.

How many are there

Nobody knows exactly, and that is part of the problem. State law does not require commissioners to give the Secretary of State's office an initial count. Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, told WLBT he estimates between 12,000 and 20,000 affidavit ballots are still uncounted, based on historic numbers and conversations with counties. Colom's campaign has estimated 10,000 to 15,000.

A second group of ballots is smaller. Watson said about 3,600 mail ballots could still arrive, because Mississippi accepts absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day for five business days afterward. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld that rule in June, 5-4, in a decision written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. CNBC reported those late ballots could provide Colom a margin of victory.

Why it has become a fight

With the margin this thin, both parties have sent lawyers to Mississippi. According to The New York Times, Hyde-Smith's lawyers formally asked state officials to separate, secure and preserve all affidavit ballots. Colom's campaign called the request an "unlawful attack on voter privacy," WLBT reported. Hyde-Smith's campaign said it is focused on completing the count and returning her to the Senate.

The lack of a recount law raises the stakes. Mississippi does not have a formal recount process for a U.S. Senate race, though candidates can sue to include or exclude specific ballots. That makes the review of each affidavit ballot the central battleground.

What to watch

• The end of the five-business-day windows for mail ballots and photo ID cures, around November 10.
• County election commission meetings, where affidavit ballots are decided in public.
• Any lawsuits over which ballots count.
• The November 13 certification deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Is an affidavit ballot the same as a provisional ballot?

Yes. Mississippi uses the term affidavit ballot for what most states call a provisional ballot.

Do all affidavit ballots get counted?

No. A ballot is counted only if officials verify the voter was eligible, and voters who lacked photo ID must show it in time.

Can a voter check on their ballot?

Yes. Voters can contact their county election commission or circuit clerk, and the state has an online tool for tracking absentee and affidavit ballots, though the status only appears after county officials enter it.

Why are results taking so long?

Because affidavit ballots are reviewed one by one after Election Day, and the law gives counties 10 days.

Related coverage

• Could a Democrat win Mississippi? Colom vs. Hyde-Smith Senate race
• Democrats win Congress: 2026 midterm results, Senate flips and what is still undecided

Sources: Associated Press, ABC News, CNBC, WLBT, Mississippi Today, The Dispatch, Democracy Docket, The New York Times and Mississippi election law, November 4-6, 2026. Figures can change as the count continues. Last updated: November 6, 2026.