More than one million votes were cast in the Presidential race in Mississippi. Absentee ballots requested in the state were more than double that of the 2016 election. Secretary of State Michael Watson says high voter turnout, and extra measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, led to longer lines at the polls than usual. Watson says "The turnout was incredible, as well as we were focused on safety in the precincts. So social distancing was noticed there, so I think a combination of all of those things added up to some longer lines. Most Mississippians that I heard from said 'we were honored and happy to wait to express our opinions and our voices.'"
Watson says for voters who forgot their ID and had to vote affidavit, the deadline to contact your circuit clerks' office is November 10th by 5:00 p.m. Mailed absentee ballots must also be received by that time. "So there are a couple of different things [in] that ten day window that can happen for folks to come back in and, again, show their ID, make sure their mail-in ballot was received. So it gives the counties the ten-day buffer there to certify those results. And then once they send them to us, we actually have 30 days to certify all of the results statewide."
Votes are still being counted, and Watson encourages Mississippians to be patient as election officials finalize results.
