Mississippi Used Credit Data to Flag 200,000 Voters. Its Senate Race Is Still Uncalled
Thousands of Mississippi voters arrived at polling places on Election Day to discover they had been struck from the active rolls — not because they had moved, but because a credit-reporting company said they had. More than 200,000 voters were marked inactive in the weeks before the midterms after Mississippi replaced U.S. Postal Service change-of-address data with records from Experian, Democracy Docket reported. Now, with one of the closest Senate races in the country still undecided, counties are deciding which of the thousands of affidavit ballots cast by those voters will count.
A new system, built on credit data
For decades, Mississippi relied on U.S. Postal Service national change-of-address data to identify voters who appeared to have moved — the same approach used by most states. In July 2025, Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, announced a partnership with Experian to check voters’ addresses against credit records instead. The state paid $50,000 for the data, according to Mississippi Today.
Under Mississippi law, a voter who appears to have moved is marked inactive and left off the poll book. On Election Day, such voters can only cast an affidavit ballot — Mississippi’s version of a provisional ballot. Watson has called the inactivations a “cornerstone of election integrity”.
The numbers behind the chaos
Democracy Docket estimated that likely more than 200,000 voters were marked inactive in the weeks before the election. An analysis by Mississippi Today put the total higher still: over 230,000 voters statewide, about one in nine, were inactive ahead of Election Day, with inactivations more than doubling in some jurisdictions since the March primaries. In DeSoto and Wilkinson counties, up to one in five voters were affected.
Local officials and researchers say much of the data was wrong. Tonya Rivers, an election commissioner in Rankin County, said the credit data gave “nowhere near correct information”. Sydney Saubestre of the Center for Democracy & Technology said “credit bureau data was never intended to be used to maintain voter rolls.” Mississippi Today found that neither Experian nor the secretary of state’s office had verified whether the data was accurate before it was used, and experts warned that credit records could wrongly flag voters whose spending happens largely in neighbouring states — a particular risk for border communities.
Lily Moens, policy and research director at the grassroots voter-assistance nonprofit Mississippi Votes, said she had immediate concerns when the partnership was announced. “It’s a system that has had proven historical inaccuracies in terms of flagging people’s addresses,” she said.
A Senate race decided by affidavit ballots
The fallout lands directly on the Senate race between Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic challenger Scott Colom, which remains uncalled. As of Sunday afternoon, Colom led by about 2,500 votes, Democracy Docket reported. Around 17,000 affidavit ballots and another 3,000 mail-in ballots were still uncounted as of the weekend.
Counties have until Friday 13 November to certify results, and Mississippi has no recount law. Watson’s office said counties had processed 11,202 affidavit ballots, with roughly 78 per cent accepted — meaning about 2,450 had been rejected so far, by Democracy Docket’s calculation.
Voters who cast affidavit ballots because they lacked photo ID had until Tuesday to bring ID to their circuit clerk’s office. Inactive voters have no equivalent path: county election commissioners decide whether their ballots count.
Watson blames local officials; counties push back
On Monday, Watson defended the programme in an interview on SuperTalk Mississippi and shifted responsibility to county election commissioners, saying local officials are legally required to verify voter information before changing registrations. “I cannot make an election commissioner do his or her job,” he said.
Rivers disputed that account, saying Watson’s own office supplied the inaccurate data and failed to adequately inform local officials about the new system. “We have heard it is apparently our fault, that we are not properly using the Experian data and that is causing these problems,” she told Democracy Docket.
A legal fight over the remaining ballots
The dispute is already heading towards the courts. Republicans have demanded that election officials “separate and preserve” provisional ballots cast in the race — a first step towards contesting some of them. Colom’s campaign pushed back in a letter, saying the demands have “no basis in Mississippi law” and would require officials to “violate Mississippi voters’ rights”.
What happens next
Counties must certify by Friday. Until then, thousands of Mississippi voters wait to learn whether their ballots counted — and the country waits to learn who won one of its closest Senate races. Alaska’s Senate race is also still uncalled, with Mary Peltola leading Dan Sullivan by 637 votes.
Frequently asked questions
What is an affidavit ballot?
In Mississippi, a voter marked inactive is left off the poll book and can only cast an affidavit ballot — the state’s version of a provisional ballot. County election commissioners later decide whether it counts.
Why did Mississippi use Experian data?
In July 2025, Secretary of State Michael Watson announced a partnership with the credit-reporting company to check voters’ addresses against credit records, replacing the U.S. Postal Service change-of-address data the state had used for decades.
When will the Mississippi Senate race be decided?
Counties have until Friday 13 November to certify results. Mississippi has no recount law, so the certified count is final unless a court intervenes.
