Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court coming to address “very narrow, legal issue” in court-ordered legislative redistricting

• Special elections are set, and candidates are actively campaigning for 14 seats in the Mississippi Legislature under the revised House and Senate district maps.

Mississippi’s Board of Election Commissioners will appeal a part of the recent ruling by a federal three-judge panel that approved a revised remedial legislative redistricting plan affecting areas in the state’s Pine Belt and North Mississippi regions.

The Board of Election Commissioners is made up of Governor Tate Reeves, Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Secretary of State Michael Watson, all Republicans.

A representative with Attorney General Fitch’s office told Magnolia Tribune Thursday that while the filing has not yet been made, the special elections caused by the legislative redistricting that are now set for later this year would not be impacted.

The representative described the challenge as a “very narrow, legal issue” the Board plans to address through their appeal. However, no specifics were provided. That appeal, which must be filed in 60 days from the lower court’s ruling, will go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Qualifying for the 14 special elections under the new district boundaries closed on June 9th. Candidates are actively campaigning ahead of the August 5 party primaries. The General Election is set for November 4.

How we got here

Lawmakers adopted their version of revised House and Senate district boundaries this session in an attempt to comply with a court ordered redistricting, namely in DeSoto and Chickasaw counties as well as in the Hattiesburg-Forrest County area, after the Mississippi NAACP filed a lawsuit challenging the 2022 legislative redistricting plan claiming black voting strength had been diluted.

Following the passage of the Legislature’s attempt at redistricting, the NAACP told the court that the maps did not do enough to satisfy their complaint and asked the federal panel to consider changes in the North Mississippi area. The plaintiffs did not object to the changes made in the Hattiesburg-Forrest County area.

The three-judge panel of U.S. Fifth Circuit Judge Leslie Southwick and U.S. District Judges Sul Ozerden and Daniel Jordan then gave the State Board of Election Commissioners seven days to propose a new map for the North Mississippi area while also allowing the NAACP to submit their own version.

The judicial panel then approved a revised plan in May, pushing back the qualifying period but leaving the primary and general election dates the same as proposed by lawmakers.