Nov. 11 (UPI) — Two Senate races were in limbo Wednesday as election authorities counted ballots more than a week after Election Day, with Democrats holding slight leads in both races.
The races in Alaska and Mississippi have not officially been called. While Democrats will have a majority in the Senate despite the outcomes of the races, their results will determine how much of a majority they will have.
In Alaska, Mary Peltola has increased her lead over Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and in Mississippi Scott Colom also is increasing his lead over Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss
Colom now has 3,000 votes more than Hyde-Smith.
Decision Desk HQ said Colom is slightly ahead with 49.11% of the vote, while Hyde-Smith is at 48.79%, or 470,266 votes for Colom to 467,183 for Hyde Smith. Tuesday is the state’s deadline for provisional and absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day.
In Alaska, Peltola has seen a slight surge over Sulivan, too. She has 49% of the vote to Sullivan’s 47.2%, with 245,470 ballots counted as of 11:13 p.m. EST Tuesday, The Hill reported.
Alaska has ranked-choice voting, so if neither candidate gets 50% of the vote, it will trigger elections officials to factor in second-choice votes.
But for now, there are tens of thousands of early and absentee ballots that haven’t been counted, the Alaska Daily News reported. Alaska’s results were expected to be certified Nov. 25.
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