MISSISSIPPI — In Tuesday’s elections, the new majority Black legislative districts created as a result of a federal court order allowed voters in those districts to elect candidates of their choice in the manner envisioned by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The districts grew out of a lawsuit filed in December 2022 by the Mississippi Center for Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Mississippi, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and civil rights attorney Carroll Rhodes on behalf of the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP and voters from across the state. The lawsuit claimed that Mississippi’s 2022 state legislative maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to create majority Black districts in certain regions of the state, in contrast to the majority white districts.
On July 2, 2024, the court found that stark racial polarization in voting, combined with Mississippi’s history of racial discrimination, deprived Black voters of equal participation in the political process in certain areas of the state where the districts did not fairly reflect the racial diversity of the people who lived there. The court ordered the state to redraw maps and create new Black-majority districts in areas around DeSoto County in Northern Mississippi (Senate District 2), in and around Hattiesburg (Senate District 45), and in Chickasaw and Monroe counties (House District 22). The court also required changes to Senate District 11 to address vote dilution.
The election results altered the balance of power by ensuring that no political party has a supermajority that can basically shut out senators elected from minority districts.
“This case is the latest in a series of court decisions over the past sixty years that led to the presence of an increasing number of Black representatives in what once was an all-white legislature stemming for the longtime denial and dilution of the votes of Black people,” said Rob McDuff, Director of the Impact Litigation Initiative at the Mississippi Center for Justice. “Yesterday’s elections bring us closer to parity and illustrate the importance of enforcement of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.”
“Fair maps matter,” said Kimberly Jones Merchant, President and CEO of MCJ. “Tuesday night showed that when every community has a fair chance to elect representatives of their choice, the entire political process becomes more representative and more responsive to all Mississippians.”
“Ironically, at the time when these elections prove the importance of litigation under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to weaken that law in a case out of Louisiana,” said McDuff. “Hopefully, the Supreme Court continues to enforce the law vigorously. Otherwise, a lot of progress will be undone.”
Read previous press releases on this topic:
Federal Court Orders Mississippi’s State Legislative Maps to Be Redrawn
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The Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) is a nonprofit law firm that advances racial and economic justice through litigation, policy advocacy, and community education. Through partnerships and direct legal services, MCJ works to ensure that all Mississippians have access to justice and opportunity.
Media Contact:
Tara Y. Wren, Ph.D.
Director of Communications
Mississippi Center for Justice
601-487-7504
twren@mscenterforjustice.org