What’s delaying the US Senate election results in Mississippi and Alaska?

Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress, but two Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska remain undecided. The outcomes could affect how many Republican votes Democrats need to overcome the Senate filibuster, which generally requires 60 votes to end.

In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,138 votes, with 96 per cent counted and about 3,600 mail-in ballots plus an unknown number of provisional ballots outstanding. Certified results are due by 13 November; the state has no automatic recount process, so a court order would be needed. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Dan Sullivan by 637 votes, with nearly a quarter of ballots uncounted; rural distances and ranked-choice voting mean results may take days or weeks, with ranked-choice results due no earlier than 15 days after the election.