Mississippi Votes Action Fund addressing affidavit concerns, upcoming elections

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - On Election Day, some Mississippians cast affidavit ballots after encountering questions about their registration, address or photo ID.

County election officials are now reviewing those ballots to determine which can be counted.

“The election commissioners have gone through each individual envelope, verified the voter, made sure they were in the right polling location, that they were actually registered to vote,“ said Keenon Walker, South Regional Coordinator for Mississippi Votes Action Fund.

Walker says now the real work can begin

“Once those are sorted and rejected or accepted, they will get filed,” he said. “When the resolution board meets, they will unseal those envelopes to actually start counting ballots.”

Some counties began counting Tuesday at 5.

Others will wait until Wednesday or Thursday.

Walker says while it may seem like it’s taking a long time, it’s all part of the counting process.

“I think Mississippi has not seen an election that was so close,” Walker said. “And this is really great because it shows that every vote counts.”

Mississippi Votes provides voter services year-round.

Walker says the organization has spent the past week listening to voters who ran into problems at the polls.

“So there are many people that are saying, ‘Hey, I’ve always voted in this location.’ ‘I’ve been at this address for many years, and now I’m not on the books,’” Walker said. “I’ve even had a few people actually say that the poll worker said, ‘Hey, you’re removed, it’s more than likely due to Experian.’”

The Secretary of State’s Office says it uses Experian address data as part of voter roll maintenance.

Walker says voters should prepare now for upcoming elections: a Forrest County Chancery Court runoff on Dec. 1 and a special election for state Senate District 34 on Dec. 22.

“It is imperative that you make a plan to vote,” Walker said. “And that means to verify your voter registration status, check your polling location, and actually make a plan. Are you going to go vote absentee or in person? Do you need to request a mail-in ballot? Or are you actually going to go day of?”

If you experienced any issues while voting, you can call the Mississippi Votes Action Fund hotline to report those issues at 1-833-678-4321

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Mississippi Votes Action Fund addressing affidavit concerns, upcoming elections

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