JACKSON, Miss. — A federal court yesterday ruled that remedial state Senate maps passed by the Legislature earlier this year still do not remedy unlawful vote dilution in the DeSoto County area. New maps for the area will now be ordered into place by the court in advance of special elections set for November 2025.
In March, the Mississippi Legislature proposed new legislative maps intended to comply with a 2024 federal court order to create additional legislative districts “in which Black voters have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.” The court order came after a group of plaintiffs, including the State Conference of the NAACP and individual Black voters from across the state, successfully proved at trial that the state House and Senate maps enacted after the 2020 Census diluted Black voting strength in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The court directed lawmakers to enact three remedial districts in the DeSoto County and Hattiesburg areas in the state Senate, and the Chickasaw and Monroe County area in the state House.
Representing the plaintiffs, a coalition including the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, the ACLU of Mississippi, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Mississippi Center for Justice, and attorney Carroll Rhodes filed partial objections to the Legislature’s remedial plans as to the lines in the DeSoto County area and the Chickasaw/Monroe County area.
The court’s decision accepted the Legislature’s remedial plans in the Hattiesburg area (which plaintiffs did not challenge) and in the Chickasaw/Monroe County area, but sustained plaintiffs’ objections in DeSoto County.
Plaintiffs submitted alternative plans for the Senate districts in the DeSoto County area which the court will now consider as a potential remedy. The court also gave the state defendants seven days to propose their own alternative remedial map for the area.
The following is reaction to the court ruling:
“This is an important win for Black voters in the DeSoto County area, who deserve nothing less than a fully equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice,” said Ari Savitzky, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “The court’s decision makes that possible. We will keep fighting to enforce voters’ rights under the Voting Rights Act.”
“The Court rightly rejected the proposed DeSoto County senate districts. The Mississippi Legislature’s attempt to skirt the law would have actually diminished Black voting power in the northwest corner of the state.” Jarvis Dortch, executive director of the ACLU of Mississippi.
“Our goal in this case is to achieve fair representation for Black people in Mississippi. Today’s ruling striking down the State’s legislative map for DeSoto County takes an important step toward that goal. The court gave the State another chance to get its map right. We will carefully review the State’s new map to ensure that it enables Black voters to participate fully in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice,”said Jennifer Nwachukwu, senior counsel from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
“This latest victory is another step towards full and fair political participation for Black communities in Mississippi. MCJ is pleased to be part of the effort to fulfill the promise of the Voting Rights Act by creating districting plans that are fair to all people, including Black voters,” said Kimberly Jones Merchant, president and CEO at the Mississippi Center for Justice.
