AMNA NAWAZ: Mississippi, a state not known for close elections, now sits in the center of the national spotlight, as an unusually high number of absentee and provisional ballots will determine the size of the Democratic Party's majority in the U.S.

Senate next year.

Liz Landers reports on how election officials are handling the ongoing vote count and the historic nature of this Senate race.

And the story is in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

LIZ LANDERS: In a chapel at Tougaloo College in North Jackson, Mississippi, civil rights groups and community members celebrated a historic election.

MAN: I'm so glad that Mississippi has not been silent.

(CHEERING) LIZ LANDERS: Mississippi is one of the last races yet to be called in this election, where Democrat and district attorney Scott Colom could unseat Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.

He would be Mississippi's first Black senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction.

CINDY AYERS ELLIOT, Mississippi Voter: If it can be done in Mississippi, it can be done anywhere.

LIZ LANDERS: Many, like seventh-generation Mississippian CINDY Ayers Elliot, see this moment as the culmination of decades of organizing.

CINDY AYERS ELLIOT: We are definitely the fruit of the labor of the seed that was planted years and years ago.

LIZ LANDERS: More than 100,000 people in Mississippi voted absentee by mail.

Today is the deadline for those ballots to be returned to election offices.

Thousands of others who could not confirm their registration at polling places cast provisional ballots, also known as affidavit ballots, and their eligibility must be confirmed before their votes are counted.

Now the race hinges on local officials in each of the state's 82 counties, who must examine each of those ballots and submit results to the secretary of state by Friday.

This is the Hinds County election office.

This is one of the largest counties in the state and a Democratic stronghold.

And they are still counting days after the election a record number of these affidavit or provisional ballots.

JESSICA CARTER, VoteRiders: A lot of people are confused right now.

They don't know why they were asked to do an affidavit ballot or told they needed to do one, and they don't know why or what the process is.

LIZ LANDERS: Jessica Carter works for VoteRiders, a nonprofit focused on voter education efforts.

She is worried that not every ballot will be counted.

Jessica, how do Mississippi's voting laws compare to other states?

JESSICA CARTER: Well, I feel archaic, because there's not a lot of flexibility.

There's not a lot of really thinking about the voter and how -- and making it easier.

LIZ LANDERS: Monday, voters throughout the state continue to cure those affidavit ballots, showing up to county clerks' offices to verify their identification or addresses.

DAVID WILSON, Mississippi Voter: I have been voting in the same place since I have been voting.

LIZ LANDERS: Some at Hinds County Courthouse had found themselves mistakenly removed from their voter rolls.

Why did they take you off the rolls?

DAVID WILSON: I have no idea.

That's the reason why I'm down here today.

It's resolved, but they couldn't explain to me why I was not able to vote.

LYNNTINA LIDDELL, Mississippi Voter: Well, they mixed my address up.

They had my old address, and I want to make sure that my ballot count today.

DARRELL ARNOLD, Host, "Unleashed Media & Talk": Welcome to the "Unleashed Media and Talk" show with Darrell Arnold.

LIZ LANDERS: Conservative talk show host Darrell Arnold heard from plenty of his listeners about the affidavit ballots too.

DARRELL ARNOLD: It's never happened that I know of in my lifetime where all these affidavit votes, everybody showed up to vote.

They said you have to vote affidavit today, and they're like, what do you mean?

LIZ LANDERS: More than 230,000 voters were designated inactive by Election Day, some mistakenly, after inaccurate address lists were provided to local officials, civil rights groups said.

Professor D'Andra Orey of Jackson State University sees a link between Mississippi's history of voter suppression efforts and the historic nature of this midterm turnout.

D'ANDRA OREY, Jackson State University: Some people actually really literally thought that they were going to lose their right to vote, which then mobilized them to get out the vote.

LIZ LANDERS: Across the South, Black turnout surged this year after several states redrew congressional maps to favor Republicans, often by eliminating majority-Black districts.

Mississippi could follow suit next year.

But the cost of living was overwhelmingly the top issue for Mississippi voters.

MAN: Pick another protein?

Shhh, I'd rather pick another senator instead.

LIZ LANDERS: A frustration captured by a viral ad from Colom's campaign.

Orey says that concern caused some white voters to shift their vote from red to blue this year.

D'ANDRA OREY: I think it was really the perfect storm for the Democrats.

And I believe they crossed over because of the economy.

That, in itself, I think was enough to serve as an incentive for people to get out and vote.

LIZ LANDERS: The Colom coalition included split-ticket voters like Ginger Vaughn from Decatur.

GINGER VAUGHN, Mississippi Voter: I voted for the other guy.

LIZ LANDERS: Scott Colom.

GINGER VAUGHN: Because I feel like she's been there for a while now, and nothing has really gotten done, and his message was very positive, and hopefully, he can bring some change.

I don't think she put very much into her campaign to begin with.

And he went all out.

LIZ LANDERS: Arnold voted for Hyde-Smith for her conservative values, but concedes that Colom connected with voters better than she did.

DARRELL ARNOLD: This whole blue wave across the country, I believe Mississippi fell into that.

I really do, because Scott Colom ran a fantastic campaign.

He really did.

And his people ran a great campaign.

They focused on the mom-and-pop at-the-table issues, Cindy Hyde-Smith's Smith's campaign not so much.

LIZ LANDERS: As the count continues, both sides are insisting all votes be properly tallied.

MIKE HURST, Chair, Mississippi Republican Party: At the end of the day, if the facts show that our laws were not followed, we will be ready to act swiftly, and we will not hesitate to hold election officials accountable.

LIZ LANDERS: Today, Colom said that he believes his lead is insurmountable.

SCOTT COLOM (D), Mississippi Senatorial Candidate: The reality is she can't point to a direction where she has a possibility to win.

At some point, we have to put the people of Mississippi above our personal feelings and partisan politics.

LIZ LANDERS: Colom gained more votes today, slightly widening his elite over Hyde-Smith.

Right now, the tally has him ahead by about 2,500 votes, or 0.3 percent.

Mississippi has no rules for an automatic recount, which means this could still go to court, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Liz, with no rules for an automatic recount, what are the next steps if either candidate wants to contest the election results?

LIZ LANDERS: Well, both campaigns have a robust legal presence here on the ground in Mississippi to make sure that all of these votes are counted here.

But there are basically two options we have heard from legal experts that could be pursued.

First option, according to David Becker, former civil rights attorney for the Department of Justice, is that this candidate in second place could go to court here in Mississippi, ask for a recount.

The court would have to consider that, and they could potentially grant that request.

The other option, according to a Mississippi civil rights attorney, Rob McDuff, that we spoke with earlier today, is that the second-place candidate could try to challenge the seating of the senator through the U.S.

Senate.

The Constitution says that Congress can judge the qualifications and elections of its own members, though that is a very unusual path to take.

For her part, Hyde-Smith was back up on Capitol Hill today telling reporters that there are still votes to be counted here in Mississippi and that she is still hoping for reelection -- Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, that is Liz Landers reporting from Jackson, Mississippi, for us tonight.

Liz, thank you very much.

LIZ LANDERS: Of course.