The Mississippi Center for Justice is encouraging the thousands of Mississippians who voted by affidavit or absentee ballot to contact their local county circuit clerk’s office to check the status of their ballot and find out whether any additional action is required.

“Ask whether your ballot was accept and, if not, why,” the organization says.

Any voter who voted by affadavit because they did not have a valid form of photo ID has 5 business days to present one at their local circuit clerk’s office.

Award-winning News Editor Ashton Pittman, a native of the South Mississippi Pine Belt, studied journalism and political science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. He has won numerous awards, including Outstanding New Journalist in the South, for his work covering immigration raids, abortion battles and even former Gov. Phil Bryantā€™s unusual work with ā€œThe Bad Boys of Brexit" at the Jackson Free Press. In 2021, as a Mississippi Free Press reporter, he was named the Diamond Journalist of the Year for seven southern U.S. states in the Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Awards. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru.