Mississippi Bars Senate Recount With Race at 65 Votes as Mail Ballots Still Arrive
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 4
Mississippi Bars Senate Recount With Race at 65 Votes as Mail Ballots Still Arrive
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 4
Summary
Scott Colom led Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 65 votes Wednesday afternoon, yet Mississippi law provides no recount process for statewide elections.
Mississippi is the only state without such a provision; 47 states allow automatic or requested recounts, while Illinois and Tennessee permit them through formal legal challenges.
Small batches of ballots still remain because Mississippi accepts mail ballots arriving up to five days after Election Day, so the margin could still widen or narrow.
A losing candidate's main option would be a court challenge over specific ballots rather than a recount, exposing a gap in state election law as the Senate race stays unresolved.