JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Local Jackson legal groups voiced their concerns on Thursday about the Hinds County ballot shortages on election day.

Legal groups, including the Mississippi Center for Justice, the Legal Defense Fund and Mississippi Votes, spoke outside the Hinds County courthouse on Thursday. They said they’re committed to finding out what exactly went wrong on election day and want to ensure it never happens again.

Amir Badat, the voting rights attorney for the Legal Defense Fund, explained what legal options exist to find answers.

“There are several tools that are available, I think, with respect to the public records request that have been submitted. If there is no response to those public records request, then the Public Records Act allows the individual making the request or the organization making the request to file a complaint with the Ethics Commission or enforce that request and the compliance with that request before the Chancery Court. And so, that is an option that is available if we don’t receive a response to those requests. And then there are other legal options that could be available to enforce the obligations of the Election Commission to make sure that ballots are available to each precinct. The Mississippi Code provides that election commissioners must make sufficient ballots available to each precinct ahead of election day. And so, there are opportunities potentially to enforce that obligation if necessary,” Badat said.

He said they are not completely ruling out filing a lawsuit to make sure those obligations are met. The groups said they hope to discuss what changes are needed and avoid legal action.