Ballots from 21 Hinds Co. precincts unaccounted for as of Tuesday night

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Ballots from a total of 21 Hinds County precincts are unaccounted for as of Tuesday night.

This according to District 4 Election Commissioner Yvonne Horton.

Officials were seen scrambling Tuesday as they worked to locate all the thumb drives that contain the ballots casted. They’re confident in where some of them are, but they might not be located until the morning.

Horton says District 2 Commissioner Toni Johnson is at least partially responsible.

“Commission Toni Johnson told circuit clerk Zach Wallace that she was coming in the morning to process her bags, so all of hers may very well be down the hall.”

Horton says she didn’t want to confirm that those votes are – in fact – down the hall, because that’s Johnson’s responsibility. “I don’t want to be accused of going through someone’s bag and doing something.”

As for the others, Horton says officials know for sure that the votes in one precinct were left at one of the polling places. “The manager has been contacted. She went to the church, but, of course, it was locked, so she’s going in the morning.”

It’s unclear how those votes will impact the results of Tuesday’s races.

“I, Yvonne Horton, do not [want] to be accused of going into someone’s bag and doing something,” she told reporters. “So if it’s missing, I’m not going to be accused of it. If the Lord asks me one question to go to heaven, Yvonne did you touch any bag in District Two? I can so, ‘No.’”

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.