Mississippi’s Republican-dominated legislature has been ordered to create more Black-majority Congressional districts by a federal three judge panel. Voting rights advocates say the ruling, issued late Tuesday, is a win for Black Mississippians.
“This is an important victory for Black Mississippians to have an equal and fair opportunity to participate in the political process without their votes being diluted,” said Jennifer Nwachukwu, senior counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, in a statement.
“This ruling affirms that the voices of Black Mississippians matter and should be reflected in the state Legislature,” she continued.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Mississippi Conference of the NAACP and Black voters from across the state, argued that legislative maps drawn in 2022 by the state legislature illegally diluted the power of the state’s Black voters.
In those maps, drawn largely behind closed doors, Black voters were concentrated into majority-White districts, diminishing their voting power in other districts across the state.
In its ruling, the judges noted that “no proposed redistricting maps were revealed to the public” by the legislature in numerous hearings, “nor was the public given the opportunity to comment on the maps.”
By denying Black voters equal access to the political process, the plaintiffs argued, the maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Legislative maps are drawn every 10 years following the decennial census. Delays caused by the Covid 19 public health emergency meant data from the 2020 Census was not released until late 2021. That data showed a decline in the state’s overall population but an increase in Black residents.
African Americans are 38% of Mississippi’s population and its largest minority group. There are currently 42-Black majority districts the state’s 122-member House and 15 in the 52-seat Senate. Tuesday’s ruling requires the legislature to create two new Black-majority Senate seats and one additional Black-majority House seat.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Mississippi, as well as the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and the Mississippi Center for Justice were among those who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP and voters from across the state.
In its ruling the judges – all appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush – agreed with the plaintiffs that new majority-Black districts should be drawn though it rejected arguments that the 2022 maps represented “unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.”
In its justification, the judges noted the high burden of proof for plaintiffs to demonstrate that race – as opposed to partisan interest – was the overriding factor in the legislature’s considerations.
Charles V. Taylor, Jr., executive director of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP, welcomed the ruling, noting however that “we wish the court had gone further.”
Mississippi’s next legislative session convenes in 2025. “It is the desire of this court to have new legislators elected before the 2025 legislative session convenes, but the parties can make whatever arguments about timing they conclude are valid,” the judges noted.
The state, which opposed the lawsuit, can argue for more time or appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the judges reject requests for additional time, the State Legislature will likely have to convene a special session.
MaryAsa Lee, a spokesperson for Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office, said in an interview that the agency is currently reviewing the court’s opinion but would not comment on whether it would appeal.
“This ruling is a win for Black Mississippians,” said Ari Savitzky, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project.
“The 2022 maps illegally prevented Black Mississippians from fully and fairly participating in our democracy in places like DeSoto County, Hattiesburg, and Chickasaw County. The court correctly found that the Voting Rights Act demands more.”
