US House chair probes ballot shortages that hampered voting in Mississippi's largest county

JACKSON, ma'am. — The chairman of a congressional committee that oversees U.S. federal elections says ballot shortages in Mississippi's largest county could undermine voting and election confidence in 2024 if local officials don't make changes.

Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the Committee on House Administration, sent a letter, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, to the five-member Hinds County Election Commission, all Democrats. He demanded information on what steps local officials will take to prevent polling stations from running out of ballots in future elections.

The ballot shortage, which sowed chaos and confusion on the night of the national election in November, could undermine confidence in the election results, Steil said.

“Situations like this reported ballot shortage and the spread of incorrect voting styles have the potential to erode voter confidence at a time when we can least afford to do so,” Steil wrote.

In Mississippi's Nov. 7 general election, ballots were unavailable in nine voting precincts in Hinds County, home to Jackson. The county is predominantly black and is a Democratic stronghold. People waited as long as two hours to vote as election officials made frantic trips to office supply stores so they could print ballots and deliver them to polling places. It is unclear how many people left without voting and what the political preferences are of the most affected voters.

Days after the November election, election commissioners said they used the wrong voter information to sort the ballots. As a result, they did not take into account the changes that came into effect after the 2022 legislative redistricting process. They also claimed to have received inadequate training from the Secretary of State. Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, has said election commissioners across the state have received the same training.

Steil asked election commissioners to identify steps their office is taking to ensure Hinds County does not run out of ballots during the 2024 federal election.

On November 28, the Mississippi Republican Party filed papers asking the state Supreme Court to vacate a lower court order that kept polls open an hour longer as voters waited in long lines and election officials rushed to print ballots. If the petition is granted, no ballots will be invalidated and the election results will not be changed.

Steil's office did not say whether he would be open to addressing Hinds County's voting problems through future federal election legislation. He said Hinds County commissioners did not appear to have met the election preparation standards required by Mississippi law.

“This is completely unacceptable and does not inspire American confidence in our country's elections,” Steil wrote.

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Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.