Mississippi voters caught off guard by inactive status in tight Senate race

Mississippi's tight Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith faces delayed vote counting because thousands of voters cast affidavit ballots after being marked inactive on voter rolls, often without their knowledge. Voters like Kevin Green and Ralph Sandidge reported discovering their inactive status only at the polls, with some told they failed to respond to address verification mailers or hadn't voted recently. Election experts attribute the errors partly to Mississippi's use of Experian consumer data for voter roll maintenance, which may have contained inaccuracies affecting thousands. Experian stated it hasn't worked with the state since 2025 and its data wasn't intended to validate voter records. The Secretary of State's office hasn't responded to inquiries, while officials count affidavit ballots and voters without ID have until Tuesday to rectify their votes.