Note: This story will be updated.
Incumbent Public Service Commissioner Brent Bailey’s examination of ballots and other materials in his loss to state Rep. De’Keither Stamps resumed Monday, after a judge’s order postponed the probe over Thanksgiving.
Bailey is weighing whether he will contest his loss to Stamps over voting problems in Hinds, the state’s largest county and the largest in the 22-county central PSC district. On Election Day earlier this month, multiple Hinds County voting precincts ran out of ballots or didn’t have proper ballots. There were reports of voters going home without casting their votes, even after some precincts stayed open late amid confusing, dueling emergency judicial orders that night.
The central district PSC race was neck-and-neck, and Stamps, the Democrat, wasn’t declared the winner until a week after the Nov. 7 election. He won by a 2,134 vote margin with 50.4% of the vote — roughly the same margin by which he lost to Bailey, the Republican, in 2019.
READ MORE: Public service commissioner says he’s inspecting election materials after close loss
Stamps has called Bailey’s examination and possible challenge sour grapes on Bailey’s part. The race, particularly in the homestretch and during the long wait for finality, saw much mudslinging and bitter feelings between candidates. Stamps has called for Bailey to concede and help him with a smooth transition for the office. Stamps has noted that he conceded to Bailey in 2019 and moved on, given a similar outcome of votes.
Last week, after Bailey gave notice to Stamps he was examining election materials, Stamps filed for an injunction. He said Bailey failed to provide him a three-day notice of the examination as required. A judge agreed, and delayed the examination until Monday.
In an interview on Monday morning, Bailey said he believes he still faces a deadline of 5 p.m. to legally contest the election, but that the examination can continue regardless. He said he was out of town for a PSC meeting, but had representatives looking over things at the courthouse. He said as of midmorning Monday he had little information from the exam and had not made a decision on a challenge.
“We’re just still evaluating things, exercising our right to examination,” Bailey said. “… Our understanding is that the deadline to contest the election is 5 p.m. today, a hard and fast deadline … I still have not made a determination on that.”
Stamps in a letter to Bailey last week in response to Bailey’s notice told the incumbent he was tilting at windmills with his examination.
“It is my understanding that you lost by 2,134 votes, a significant margin that I do not believe you will be able to overcome with recounts,” Stamps wrote.
On Monday, Stamps was not immediately available for comment because he was participating in the examination.
“We are still in the review, working through the review,” Stamps texted.
The three-member, elected Public Service Commission regulates public utilities and the rates they can charge customers. If Stamps’ victory stands, the commission will have three new members starting in January: two Republicans and one Democrat (Stamps).
The other two PSC seats were decided in the August primary, with Republican state Rep. Chris Brown winning the northern district seat and Republican challenger Wayne Carr winning the southern district seat.
Current Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley ran unsuccessfully for governor this year, and Carr defeated current Southern District Commissioner Dane Maxwell in the Republican primary in August.
READ MORE: Stamps declared winner of Central District PSC seat
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