Two Senate races remain uncalled days after polls closed, and the only thing arriving faster than the final ballot counts are the lawyers and the fundraising pitches. Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by roughly 2,000 votes in Mississippi — 49.1 percent to 48.8 percent — with over 95 percent of ballots counted, according to the Associated Press. In Alaska, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola leads Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan 48.17 percent to 47.8 percent with 74 percent counted. Both races now sit in the machinery of election law, not the will of voters on Election Day.

This is what American elections have become: a litigation playground where procedural maneuvering and legal letters fly before the votes are even finished being counted. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have both established recount funds, according to Politico, tapping donors to finance the drawn-out fights even though all votes have already been cast.

The NRSC sent a letter to county election commissioners and circuit clerks across Mississippi's 82 counties demanding they separate and preserve all affidavit ballots cast on Election Day. "As the democratic process continues to play out, we are committed to ensuring that every single lawful ballot is accurately counted and the voices of all Mississippians are heard," NRSC regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell said in a statement.

Colom's campaign manager Gerard Henderson called the NRSC letter a "desperate stunt" in a statement. Colom's legal counsel — including attorneys from the Elias Law Group — sent their own letter to all 82 counties, warning that the NRSC's demands "have no basis in Mississippi law, and if you depart from ordinary election procedures as you have been asked to do, you will violate Mississippi voters' rights and Mississippi election law."

The legal wrangling centers on Mississippi's affidavit ballot rules. Voters who showed up without photo ID on Election Day cast affidavit ballots and have until November 10 to visit their local circuit clerk's office to present acceptable ID or sign a religious objection affidavit. November 10 is also the deadline for mail-in ballots to arrive and be counted.

Mississippi has no automatic recount law. A recount requires a court order in response to a lawsuit against a county or county election commission — and there is no statewide system for challenging ballots, meaning any fight would unfold county by county across 82 jurisdictions.

Local civic organization One Voice is also mobilizing. "Voters who followed the rules and were still turned away, moved to an affidavit ballot, or left off the rolls through no fault of their own deserve answers and action," executive director Nsombi Lambright-Haynes said in a statement. "We will not let administrative failures erase the voices of the people."

Meanwhile, the fundraising machine is humming. Kamala Harris rallied her email list for Colom, writing that "Republicans are going to do everything they can to try to hold onto this seat," according to Politico.

In Alaska, the wait could stretch even longer — results may not be final until November 18. The state uses ranked-choice voting, which requires additional tabulation rounds if no candidate clears a majority. A memo from Sullivan's campaign claimed that if ranked-choice tabulation happened today with votes in hand, Sullivan would lead Peltola by 328 votes — but roughly 47,000 early and absentee ballots remain uncounted.

The Daily Caller highlighted the fundraising angle prominently; The Guardian focused more on the ground-level counting and local organizing. Both confirmed the same core reality: the people cast their votes, and now the lawyers and the party committees take over.

The question is whether the system that follows Election Day — the affidavit deadlines, the county-by-county challenges, the recount funds — still reflects the voice of the voter, or just the resources of the parties.