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House approves court-ordered redistricting plan that creates new majority-minority districts in DeSoto County and Hattiesburg
Summary
The Mississippi House adopted a joint resolution to implement a redrawn Senate map to meet a federal court order, creating new majority-minority districts in DeSoto County and Hattiesburg and pairing two incumbent senators. The resolution passed 68–49.
The Mississippi House on the floor adopted a joint resolution to implement a redrawn Senate map the federal court ordered, creating a new majority-minority district in DeSoto County and another based in Hattiesburg.
The House voted 68–49 in favor of the joint resolution after extended discussion about the map’s population percentages, incumbency effects and community cohesion. The chairman of the House Apportionment & Elections Committee described the change as the House’s response to the federal court’s direction to create at least one additional majority-minority district.
The committee chair said the new majority-minority district in DeSoto County would have an APBVAP (African‑American Voting Age Population) of 50.92. He said the new district based in Hattiesburg would reach partly into Forrest County and would have an APBVAP of 51.24. He also said the redrawing in DeSoto County paired two senators and produced a new district with an APBVAP of 52.46, leaving the newly drawn majority-minority district without an incumbent. "The new majority-minority district in DeSoto County would have a APBVAP of 50.92," the chairman told the chamber.
Members from DeSoto and other affected areas objected on geographic and community‑of‑interest grounds, saying the proposed lines linked communities with distinct needs and could dilute local representation. Representative Eubanks of DeSoto described local opposition from residents and the county delegation and said he opposed the measure for those reasons.
The committee chair reminded members that the federal court must approve the map before it takes effect and that the court could reject the state plan and draw its own map. "It’s entirely possible that this map is not approved by the federal court," he said. That approval remains a separate step in the process.
Votes at the end of the floor debate showed the resolution adopted by a recorded machine vote of 68 yeas and 49 nays.
What happens next: the adopted lines will be forwarded as the state’s submission for federal review. The federal court’s approval — or a court‑drawn map — will determine the final legal district boundaries.
