Additional Coverage:
A federal court has mandated that Mississippi needs to redesign its state Legislative map to incorporate additional districts predominantly representing Black voters. The ruling was made by the U.S. District District of Mississippi, which concluded that the current map, established by the state’s Republican-majority Legislature in 2022, contravenes the Voting Rights Act by diminishing the Black community’s voting strength.
Following a trial in February, the judges determined that the map needs to be amended to include two more Black-majority districts in the Senate and one in the House of Representatives. The lawsuit was brought forward by the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP and some voters, who the court acknowledged had met their proof burden of discrimination.
The court identified issues with the voting map being influenced by racial division which impacted electoral accessibility more than political affiliations, as the state contended. Despite an increase in the Black population in Mississippi, the 202ydistributed maps failed to reflect this demographic shift, according to the judges.
However, the court did not support the NAACP’s argument that the maps were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. Meanwhile, the ACLU, which was part of the legal challenge, praised the judgment as a notable success for Black residents in Mississippi, emphasizing its importance for fair democratic participation in areas like DeSoto County, Hattiesburg, and Chickasaw County.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has yet to comment on the court’s decision.