Mississippi lawmakers begin redistricting after Supreme Court decision on voting rights

Mississippi's Joint Redistricting and Reapportionment Committee convened to start revising legislative, congressional and judicial maps following the U.S. Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling.

In response to the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision, which curbed certain minority voting protections, Mississippi's Joint Redistricting and Reapportionment Committee gathered for its first session since the ruling. Led by Republican Senator Dean Kirby and Representative Noah Sanford, the panel scheduled eight public hearings over the next two months to gather citizen feedback on potential redraws of legislative, congressional and judicial districts.

The committee also retained Butler Snow lawyers as general counsel. Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann refused to specify any district priorities, emphasizing the need for the committee to conduct its work. Voting-rights advocates, including Fair Fight Action's Amir Badat, denounced the process as a superficial effort to erode Black political influence. A recent voting-rights town hall, organized by Senate candidate Scott Colom and featuring Senator Angela Alsobrooks, Representative Bennie Thompson, and NAACP director Charles Taylor, called on Mississippians to register and vote in large numbers to counteract attempts to dismantle majority-Black districts.