JUST IN: New Ballot Dump Shifts Mississippi Senate Race

Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's fight to hold her seat remained unresolved Friday as Democrat Scott Colom held a roughly 2,000-vote advantage in the Mississippi Senate race.

The contest remained uncalled, with county officials still working through outstanding absentee and affidavit ballots that could determine the winner.

Colom, a prosecutor, pushed his lead to 1,936 votes Friday morning after additional returns from Bolivar County gave him a net gain of 123 votes. A subsequent Mississippi Free Press report put his statewide advantage at 2,010.

With the margin still narrow, the remaining count leaves Hyde-Smith fighting to close the gap.

Mississippi's elections are run at the county level, and local officials have been adding results as they process mail-in absentee ballots and verify affidavit ballots, the state's term for provisional ballots.

To qualify for counting, mailed absentee ballots must have been postmarked by Election Day and arrive by Tuesday, Nov. 10.

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Voters who cast affidavit ballots because they lacked photo identification also have until Tuesday to present acceptable identification to their circuit clerk.

Other affidavit ballots require officials to verify eligibility. Counties have until Nov. 13 to submit their certified results to the state.

Alaska's Senate contest also remained unresolved Friday, with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan trailing Democrat Mary Peltola by 637 votes in the latest reported count.

The tally had not changed since Wednesday. The next major update is expected Tuesday, when officials plan to add more early votes and absentee ballots.

A New York Times analysis suggested Peltola could retain her advantage after ranked-choice tabulation, though outstanding ballots could still change the race.

Alaska accepts qualifying domestic mail ballots through Nov. 13 and overseas ballots through Nov. 18, provided they were postmarked by Election Day.

If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, ranked-choice tabulation is scheduled for Nov. 18.

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