JACKSON, Miss. — The ongoing battle to redraw several Mississippi legislative districts that would restore Black voting power in the state may have face a new challenge.
Attorneys for the Board of Election Commissioners filed arguments on Wednesday saying it is impossible to redraw the maps right now with the deadlines looming for them to prepare ballots by November.
Currently, the state Board of Election Commissioners is completely represented by Republicans.
The arguments were in response to a ruling by a panel of three federal judges on July 2 who ordered the state legislature change the boundaries of several legislative districts. In response to the 2022 lawsuit filed by the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP and multiple Black residents, the three judges said there are districts in at least three parts of Mississippi that dilute Black voting power.
The judges ordered the districts be redrawn before the next regular legislative session, which begins in January.
The judge’s order requires legislators to redefine the boundaries of the current districts, not create new districts.
Mississippi’s population is about 59% white and 38% Black. Multiple districts could be changed, significantly skewing the balance of power in Mississippi, where white voters represent the majority of Republicans.
More on the judges’ order to redraw legislative districts.
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