“I’m through. I’m through for the night,” Election Commissioner Robbie Graves told the room as tempers flared in Hinds County.
A heated Mississippi U.S. Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith drew aggressive scrutiny Monday night as lawyers representing the GOP campaign vocally challenged election workers, Democracy Docket reported.
Colom held a lead of roughly 2,500 votes as Tuesday morning arrived, placing intense pressure on election officials across the state’s most populous county. With no automatic recount law in Mississippi, candidates challenging results must typically turn to the courts.
Coy Westbrook, an attorney observing on behalf of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Hyde-Smith campaign, loudly accused Graves of discussing ballots with fellow Election Commissioner Jermal Clark outside the view of observers. Westbrook invoked public records law during the confrontation, questioning whether statutory observation rights extend to private discussions among commissioners.
“Interesting, interesting. So, she said that she was having a private conversation with another election commissioner about how to accept certain ballots. And she’s going to call, so we can’t hear the conversation with her and another commissioner,” Westbrook told Dennis Polio, another lawyer observing for the Hyde-Smith campaign, loudly enough for the office to hear.
“Untoward, one might say,” Westbrook added.
Graves immediately pushed back against the accusations before packing her belongings. As she prepared to leave, she asked Westbrook if he wanted to watch her place personal items into a bag.
“You all can come watch. I’m not doing anything. I’m just packing it up,” Graves said.
“That’s OK. It’s all good, commissioner,” Westbrook responded.
Westbrook, Polio, the Hyde-Smith campaign, and Ray Chambers, an attorney for the Hinds County Election Commission, did not respond to requests for comment from Democracy Docket.
Charles Douglas III, executive director of the progressive political organization Common Power, witnessed the exchange while observing for Colom’s campaign. He stated that Graves was merely trying to coordinate when all five commissioners would finish work and leave together so no individual was left behind.
Douglas suggested that Westbrook went too far during the encounter. “He’s performing at that point,” Douglas told Democracy Docket, adding that he believed the lawyers focused heavily on Graves to intimidate or uncover grounds for a challenge.
Last week, lawyers for the NRSC sent a formal letter demanding that all Mississippi election commissioners separate and preserve every affidavit ballot cast. In response, Colom’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued letters warning that the request lacked any basis in state law.
The Hinds County Election Commission expects to finish processing affidavit ballots Tuesday before referring accepted ballots to the Hinds County Resolution Board on Wednesday. Officials anticipate releasing a final count once the board completes its review.
