The NAACP has once again inserted itself into Mississippi legislative redistricting, asking a federal court to order elections for the Legislature in 2013.
Their argument? Since the Department of Justice has approved the new lines, state House and Senate special elections are warranted to accommodate minority voters.
As quoted in the Hattiesburg American, the NAACP says that, “Although the 2012 legislatively enacted Senate and House plans comply with the one-person, one-vote principle of the 14 Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, the 2012 Senate plan dilutes black voting strength and the House plan does as well… Consequently, both plans result in discrimination against African-American voters.”
Legislative Democrats need to give the NAACP a call quickly and tell them to back off.
In the current political environment and with the new lines in place, both the Legislative Democrats and the Black Caucus have much to lose if an election were ordered for 2013. They just may get more than they wish for.
If an election were held in the near future, the Republican majority would likely swell, backfiring on the NAACP and liberals’ attempt to regain the majority they lost in 2011.
Further, who is to foot the bill for this unnecessary exercise in accommodation? You guessed it – the taxpayers of Mississippi. The NAACP wants you to expend millions to give them one last chance at relevance in Mississippi politics. This notion will not sit well with likely special election voters, again setting liberals up for failure.
What’s more, in a last ditch effort, the NAACP goes even further by asking the Court to “discard the boundary plans approved by the Legislature and Justice Department and draw new district lines for the proposed 2013 elections.”
So… since they couldn’t rely on their friend U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, they want the three judge panel to insert themselves in a process that has worked its way through the legislature, passed both chambers, viewed favorably by the Governor and has received the go ahead from the DOJ.
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said in a press release, “It has always been my position the Mississippi Legislature should be able to redistrict itself and not the Federal Courts. The Mississippi House and Senate adopted fair redistricting plans that even received approval by the Department of Justice. We believe the 2011 elections were constitutional, and our legislators should be able to serve their full four year terms.”
Hosemann added, “To hold legislative elections outside of the normal four year cycle would prove costly and unproductive for our State. Particularly in these lean budget times, I cannot be in favor of the additional expense.”
At some point someone needs to call such exercises in futility what they are – sour grapes.
Our guess is that the Court will deny the NAACP’s request, there will be no special election in 2013, and liberals will continue to kick and scream three more years.
Courtesy of CottonMouth, here’s the motion.
NAACP Motion to Set Aside 2011 Legislative Elections