Affidavit ballots keep Mississippi waiting

Hinds County Election Commissioner Felicia McClinton says 233 of the 638 affidavit ballots her office received came from Jackson State students. She says election workers call every voter who submits an affidavit ballot. During the process, election officials must type each voter’s name into the system, along with their Social Security number, address and other information. Officials will call the voter to let them know the office received their ballot.

“We have to contact the voter and let them know. That their vote was accepted or was rejected. And if it's rejected, the reason why.” 

Officials can reject affidavit ballots if voters are registered in the wrong county, if a signature does not match voter registration records, or if voters fail to provide an acceptable ID within five days. 

During the review process, a poll watcher and an election commissioner had difficulty reading one voter's name on an affidavit ballot. She said it’s best for voters to print their names clearly so election officials can enter the information correctly. She said it is also important for voters to complete all requested information on the ballot. 

Election Commissioner Kidada Brown oversees 21 precincts. She says a resolution board reviews each ballot before it goes through the tabulation process to make sure it was filled out correctly.

“They will come in and see which ones can go in the machines to make sure that they are bubbled the way that they should be and if they can accept them,” said Brown. “Because there might be a few of those that's rejected if they put check marks, some of them, put check mark, put X. So you can't accept those either.”

In an interview with WLBT, Secretary of State Michael Watson estimated there could be "between 12,000 and 20,000 affidavit ballots remaining uncounted,” with 76% of them accepted. 

Inside the warehouse, campaign teams, civic organizations, and lawyers were present asking officials about the process and why someone’s vote may have been rejected or why a voter’s information may not have matched records in the correct precinct.

Various organizations including ACLU of Mississippi are posting online for voters who cast affidavits or absentee ballots to track them through the Secretary of State website. 

 Michael Morley, faculty director of Florida State University (FSU) Election Law Center, explained how election officials certify those votes.  

“Canvassing officials are going to look at each polling place. Here's the number of people who signed into the polling place,” said Morley. “Here's the total number of votes that were counted from this polling place those numbers should generally be equal.” 

Brown said the process is very tedious.

 “I asked everyone to be patient with us. This is a long process. We have a lot of affidavit ballots and it's going to take some more days,” Brown said.

Counties have until November 13th to certify election results. You can visit the Secretary of State website to look at election day calendar.