Mississippi Goddamn: Colom’s Still Fighting. I’m Still Reporting.

Colom leads as lawyers clash over accepted ballots, voters face confusing rules, and observers report being shut out of the count.

DEVELOPING NEWS | November 7, 2026

I’ve put the rest of XVOA on hold to follow Mississippi. That means the Blackout reports, too. I made the decision to spend that time checking the county results and reading the letters from the lawyers. I want to know how these ballots are being handled, and I’m going to keep at it. Scott Colom is still fighting for this seat. I’m still reporting.

The race remains uncalled. [1] On Friday, November 6, Cindy Hyde-Smith posted: “We are not backing down.” [2]

“Won’t back down” takes me back to Florida, to hearing Tom Petty on the radio and to the quieter, entrenched old South I remember around me. That resentment of Yankees coming down here telling people how to run things could carry on quite comfortably without anybody raising their voice. People already knew who ran the place.

I’m old enough to remember Confederate flags in a neighboring sheriff’s department’s logo, displayed on its vehicles into the early nineties. I still wonder how a Black family was supposed to feel calling that department for help. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s statement got me thinking about those cars again.

The Confederacy could have used “won’t back down” on its letterhead. Senator, there are still votes to count. I’d like to know what happens to them, and I’m running short on patience for the Southern defiance routine.

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Mississippi removed a way to fix mail ballots

Affidavit voters who didn’t have proper photo ID can still bring in acceptable photo ID or apply for a Mississippi Voter ID card by Tuesday, November 10, at the circuit clerk’s office in the county where they registered to vote. [3] [4]

That’s one process for Mississippi voters. Another, curing mail ballots, no longer exists. In August, Mississippi eliminated the ability for voters to cure mail ballots (i.e., if your signature didn’t match, you’d be able to correct the problem so your ballot wouldn’t be tossed). A spokesperson for Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office confirmed there are “no steps for curing a mail-in.” However, Jim Saksa of Democracy Docket reported on Friday, November 6, that the old mail-ballot curing instructions were still on the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website. That’s concerning since some voting rights groups were using that website to help advise voters. Can Secretary of State Watson’s office explain how voters would’ve been able to figure this out? [5]

The demand includes ballots already accepted

The fight over how affidavit ballots are handled isn’t over, and now it’s even messier. In a Nov. 5 letter I mentioned in my last update, attorneys for U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) asked election officials in all 82 Mississippi counties to segregate affidavit ballots (and records about them) from other election materials. The demand included affidavit ballots that have been accepted, as well as those that have been rejected, that remain in dispute or that voters were able to “cure.” [6]

The attorneys said the materials could be used as evidence in an election challenge or other proceeding, even one before the U.S. Senate. They also said their requests shouldn’t interfere with the lawful counting of ballots or with the privacy of the ballot. [6]

Jacquelyn Lopez, an attorney with Elias Law Group who is representing Colom, responded that Hyde-Smith’s attorneys hadn’t pointed to any legal authority authorizing counties to segregate affidavit ballots after they’ve been processed and accepted. And Lopez said last-minute changes could cause voters’ ballots to be treated differently in different counties, and could jeopardize ballot secrecy by tying voters to their ballots. [7]

Neither letter is a court order. But the fact that Hyde-Smith’s letter calls for segregating affidavit ballots that have been processed and accepted is particularly noteworthy. I’ll keep an eye out for news about whether any counties comply, and if they do, what legal authority they point to. [6] [7]

Some observers say they’re being shut out

Capital B reporting on monitors being shut out.

Some election-watchers report being shut out entirely, according to Capital B. In Madison County, People’s Advocacy Institute organizing director Natt Offiah says he was bounced from office to office in search of election officials, only to be told the staff he was trying to find had already left, with no information as to when they would return. [8]

In Harrison County, WLOX reported that election-watchers were able to observe the process but couldn’t see voters’ private information. Harrison County Election Commissioner Becky Payne said the documents election workers are going through to make determinations about which affidavit ballots to count include private information, like identification numbers, that should be kept secure. [9]

The ACLU of Mississippi, in a Nov. 5 letter addressed to election officials in DeSoto County, said it believes the public should be able to witness the process election workers use to determine whether affidavit ballots should be counted. [10] Capital B was told by the office of Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson that the public is welcome to watch ballot-counting and hear which affidavit ballots are being included or excluded, but not to observe the preliminary process of deciding which ballots are eligible to be counted. [8]

Counties should be clear about what election-watchers are and aren’t allowed to see, and post schedules so people know when and where ballot-counting will occur. Election-watchers shouldn’t have to waste their time, let alone their day, trying to figure out how to do their jobs.

Colom is still showing up

Scott Colom embraces his wife, Nadia Colom, after a prayer to bless the food.

Colom, who met with voters Friday, November 6, at three Jackson stops (one of which was at a senior citizens center, according to WLBT), told reporters when asked if he was still campaigning even though votes are still being counted: “I’m not going to stop showing up.” He’s honoring a pledge he made to voters, he said. [11]

Colom also took issue with Hyde-Smith’s absence from interviews, and challenged her to explain her path to victory, according to the AP. But he added that he has faith in Mississippi’s election officials and encouraged people to allow them time to complete their jobs. [1]

At 7:41 p.m. ET on Friday, November 6, according to Decision Desk HQ, Colom led Hyde-Smith 468,339–465,643. That’s a lead of 2,696 votes (up 609 votes from the 2,087-vote margin mentioned in my last update). [12]

Counties have until Friday, November 13, to certify election results. [13]

I’m staying with Mississippi

And since I want Colom to win (you knew that, right?) I’m sticking with Mississippi.

It’s not like there’s anything else I want to be working on tonight. But even if there were, I’d be sticking with Mississippi. I put Blackout reports and the rest of XVOA’s reporting on hold to pursue Mississippi and I’m sticking with that decision.

There’s a lot still to do on the Mississippi story. There are county totals to keep checking. There are voters who still need to get to clerk’s offices to sort out photo ID problems. There are ballots that have been accepted, and the campaigns are disputing how those ballots should be handled. There’s the question of certification, and if there’s a challenge to certification, there’s that.

Listen, If Colom ain’t done, I ain’t done.

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Sources

[1] Bill Barrow and Sophie Bates, Associated Press, “Scott Colom and Black Mississippians stand on the cusp of Senate history as vote count stretches on”⁠, November 7, 2026.

[2] Heather Harrison, Mississippi Free Press, “Hyde-Smith ‘Not Backing Down’ From Potential Victory”⁠, November 6, 2026.

[3] Mississippi Secretary of State, Voter ID: frequently asked questions⁠, including the five-business-day affidavit-ballot remedy for voters without photo ID.

[4] WLOX Staff, via WLBT, “Cast an affidavit ballot? Here’s what Mississippi voters need to know”⁠, November 4, 2026.

[5] Jim Saksa, Democracy Docket, “Mississippi Senate race votes at risk after state eliminates mail ballot curing rule”⁠, November 6, 2026. Disclosure: Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias’s firm is involved in the legal effort on behalf of Colom.

[6] Counsel for Cindy Hyde-Smith for U.S. Senate, Demand to separate and preserve affidavit ballots⁠, November 5, 2026. Primary document, PDF.

[7] Jacquelyn Lopez, counsel for Scott Colom for Senate, Response to Hyde-Smith’s ballot-segregation demand⁠, November 5, 2026. Primary document, PDF.

[8] Aallyah Wright and Jasmine Williams, Capital B / ’Sipp Talk Media, “As Mississippi Counts Vote, Ballot Monitors Say They’re Being Shut Out”⁠, November 7, 2026.

[9] Gracie Guillot, WLOX, “Harrison County Election Commission verifying information on affidavit ballots”⁠, published November 6, 2026.

[10] ACLU of Mississippi, Letter urging DeSoto County election officials to allow public access to affidavit-ballot counting⁠, November 5, 2026.

[11] Holly Emery, WLBT, via WTVA, “Colom meets Jackson voters as Senate ballot count continues”⁠, published November 6, 2026.

[12] Decision Desk HQ, Mississippi U.S. Senate general-election results⁠, tally timestamped November 6, 2026, 7:41 p.m. EST. The 609-vote increase compares this margin with the 2,087-vote margin in the previous update.

[13] Mississippi Secretary of State, “Official Statement: Election Update”⁠, November 4, 2026, confirming the November 13 county-certification deadline.