- With 99% of precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning, DeSoto County went blue, backing Democrat nominee Scott Colom over incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Colom drew 51.9% to Hyde-Smith’s 45.7%, leaving the two separated in the northwest Mississippi county by roughly 3,400 votes.
Late Tuesday night, the Mississippi Democratic Party sought emergency injunctive relief over what it claims were “substantial disruptions to voting at multiple polling places in DeSoto County.”
Wednesday morning, the party sought to dismiss their lawsuit and the judge granted the motion.
With 99% of precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning, DeSoto County went blue, backing Democrat nominee Scott Colom over incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Colom drew 51.9% to Hyde-Smith’s 45.7%, leaving the two separated in the northwest Mississippi county by roughly 3,400 votes.
As of Wednesday morning, Colom leads Hyde-Smith statewide by 43 votes with 97% of precincts reporting as final precincts and affidavit vote tallies remain to be counted.
The Mississippi Democratic Party claimed in its filing before the Circuit Court in DeSoto County that throughout Election Day, voters encountered “delayed openings of polling places, shortages of official ballots, extraordinary waiting periods, and physical obstructions interfering with access to polling locations.”
“These disruptions have substantially interfered with the ability of qualified electors to exercise their fundamental right to vote during the hours prescribed by Mississippi law,” the party stated.
They claimed the issues extended to multiple precincts “and, in some instances… persisted or recurred throughout Election Day despite efforts to obtain corrective action from election officials.”
The Democratic Party further alleged that although additional ballot supplies were reportedly delivered intermittently, the recurring shortages disrupted the orderly administration of voting and contributed to significant delays.
They pointed to “extraordinary waiting periods” where one individual waiting in line at Minor Memorial United Methodist Church lost consciousness and was transported to a hospital for medical attention. The party said in the filing that they also received reports that law enforcement personnel were checking the identification of individuals entering certain polling locations, creating additional delays and potential barriers to access.
“Plaintiff seeks relief tailored to the nature, duration, and geographic scope of the established disruptions, including an extension of voting hours where necessary to remedy the loss of meaningful voting opportunities,” the Democratic Party claim states, further requesting “immediate judicial intervention to protect qualified voters, correct ongoing impediments, and preserve the integrity of the election.”
Democrats asked the judge to “preserve the right of every qualified voter who was standing in line at 7:00 p.m. to cast a ballot, regardless of whether an extension is ordered” and “direct election officials to provide affidavit ballots to voters entitled to vote solely by virtue of any court-ordered extension.”
A copy of the filing is shown below.
