10 Jan Statement on Legislative Redistricting Proposal
Media Contact
Tara Y. Wren, Mississippi Center for Justice, twren@mscenterforjustice.org
Candi Richardson, ACLU of Mississippi, comms@aclu-ms.org
Inga Sarda-Sorensen, ACLU, 347-514-3984, isarda-sorensen@aclu.org
Lacy Crawford, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 252-292-6608 lcrawford@lawyerscommitte.org
PRESS STATEMENT
January 10, 2025
Attorneys representing Black Mississippi voters presented proposed maps of voting districts that would meet all requirements to fulfill a recent federal court order. New maps must meet court approval in accordance with the Voting Rights Act and ensure that Black voters have an equal chance to participate in the political process.
“Any proposed maps that attempt to meet the Court order by diluting or undermining existing Black-majority voting districts in other parts of the state will fail the requirements set by the court and federal law,” says Jarvis Dortch, Executive Director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “The best way for Mississippi to move forward is to adopt maps similar to those presented by experts at trial. This saves costly litigation and allows the Legislature to get back to the business of serving Mississippi taxpayers.”
On July 2, 2024, a three-judge federal court issued a ruling ordering Mississippi to redraw its 2022 state legislative maps in several areas after concluding those maps unlawfully dilute the voting strength of Black Mississippians, in violation of the Voting Rights Act in those areas. Attorneys from The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Mississippi, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, the Law Office of Carroll Rhodes, and Mississippi Center for Justice, representing the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP and Black Mississippi voters, secured the victory in the case.
As part of that trial, attorneys worked with experts to create additional legislative districts that would ensure Black voters in DeSoto County, the Hattiesburg area, and in Chickasaw and Monroe Counties are fairly represented in elections. The Court ordered that new Black-majority districts should be created in those areas. Adopting districts similar to those at trial is the best use of resources for Mississippi, as the evidence and analysis backing the maps have already been affirmed by the Court.
Read letter here.