Current:Home > ScamsMississippi can wait to reset legislative districts that dilute Black voting strength, judges say -Prime Money Path
Mississippi can wait to reset legislative districts that dilute Black voting strength, judges say
Fastexy Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 20:39:14
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi can wait until next year to redraw some of its legislative districts to replace ones where Black voting power is currently diluted, three federal judges said Thursday.
The decision updates a timeline from the judges, who issued a ruling July 2 that found problems with districts in three parts of the state — a ruling that will require multiple House and Senate districts to be reconfigured. The judges originally said they wanted new districts set before the regular legislative session begins in January.
Their decision Thursday means Mississippi will not hold special legislative elections this November on the same day as the presidential election. It also means current legislators are likely to serve half of the four-year term in districts where the judges found that Black voters’ voices are diminished.
The judges wrote Thursday that waiting until 2025 avoids an “exceedingly compressed schedule” for legislators to draw new districts, for those districts to receive court approval, for parties to hold primaries and for candidates to campaign.
Attorneys for the state Board of Election Commissioners argued that redrawing districts in time for this November’s election is impossible because of tight deadlines to prepare ballots. Attorneys for the NAACP, who sued the state, argued it’s important to redraw districts quickly because having special elections next year would create burdens for election administrators and cause confusion for voters.
Legislative and congressional districts are updated after each census to reflect population changes from the previous decade. Mississippi’s population is about 59% white and 38% Black.
In the legislative redistricting plan adopted in 2022 and used in the 2023 elections, 15 of the 52 Senate districts and 42 of the 122 House districts are majority-Black. Those are 29% of Senate districts and 34% of House districts.
The judges ordered legislators to draw majority-Black Senate districts in and around DeSoto County in the northwestern corner of the state and in and around Hattiesburg in the south, and a new majority-Black House district in Chickasaw and Monroe counties in the northeastern part of the state.
The order does not create additional districts. Rather, it requires legislators to adjust the boundaries of existing ones. Multiple districts could be affected — up to one-third of those in the Senate and nine or 10 in the House, according to plaintiffs.
Historical voting patterns in Mississippi show that districts with higher populations of white residents tend to lean toward Republicans and that districts with higher populations of Black residents tend to lean toward Democrats.
Lawsuits in several states have challenged the composition of congressional or state legislative districts drawn after the 2020 census.
veryGood! (7787)
Related
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Marlena Shaw, legendary California Soul singer, dies at 81
- Turkey investigates 8 bodies that washed up on its Mediterranean coast, including at a resort
- Rachel McAdams Supports Mean Girls' Reneé Rapp on SNL With Surprise Appearance
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Taiwan says 6 Chinese balloons flew through its airspace, and warplanes and ships also detected
- Taylor Swift cheers on Travis Kelce as the Kansas City Chiefs again take on Buffalo Bills
- Two opposition leaders in Senegal are excluded from the final list of presidential candidates
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Marlena Shaw, ‘California Soul’ singer, dead at 81
Ranking
- Small twin
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says not to assume about what the next election is going to bring
- Oscar nomination predictions: Who's in for sure (what's up, RDJ!) and who may get snubbed
- Michelle Trachtenberg Responds to Fans' Concerns Over Her Appearance
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- US government rejects complaint that woman was improperly denied an emergency abortion in Oklahoma
- Ohio State adds 2024 5-star quarterback Julian Sayin through transfer portal from Alabama
- 23 lost skiers and snowboarders rescued in frigid temperatures in Killington, Vermont
Recommendation
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
Missing Navy SEALs now presumed dead after mission to confiscate Iranian-made weapons
Two opposition leaders in Senegal are excluded from the final list of presidential candidates
5 centenarians at Ohio nursing home celebrate 500+ years at epic birthday party
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
Report: US sees 91 winter weather related deaths
When does 'The Bachelor' start? Season 28 premiere date, how to watch and stream
Trump may testify in sex abuse defamation trial, but the court has limited what he can say