Senate committee approves plan to redraw districts to meet Section 2 ruling; two new majority-minority districts created

The Mississippi Senate Rules Committee on Monday approved a joint resolution that presents a redistricting plan the committee says responds to a federal court ruling under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

"As all of you know, on July 2, 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi held that the legislature needs to redraw their maps to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act," said Senator Kirby, chair of the committee. He told the committee the plan before them was the product of many drafts, staff work and outside review.

The plan creates two new majority‑minority Senate districts and affects multiple other districts, the committee was told. Kirby said the DeSoto County area will be represented by a newly configured district the plan labels Senate District 11 with a Black voting‑age population of 50.92 percent; a new district in the Hattiesburg/Forest County area, labeled Senate District 45, has a Black voting‑age population of 51.24 percent. Kirby said the committee also identified an existing majority‑minority district, Senate District 1, with a Black voting‑age population of 52.46 percent, and cited Senate District 34 as having a Black voting‑age population of 53.31 percent.

Kirby told the committee the map was shaped to meet multiple legal criteria: keep district population deviations within 5 percent, maintain contiguity, comply with the U.S. Constitution's one‑person, one‑vote requirement, and adhere to federal and state law including Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. "We have followed all of that criteria in doing this," he said.

Committee members asked about expert review. "Have you had a chance to talk to experts on this? And if so, what proof or things have you done to show that this does comply with the court's order?" asked Senator Navarre. Kirby responded that staff and outside experts reviewed the plans, saying the committee "employed three expert map companies in other states to review these for performance," and that the map before the committee had been reviewed by attorneys, staff and outside peer reviewers.

Kirby said the plan was one of 14 final versions the committee considered and that the goal was to comply with the court order while affecting as few districts as possible. He said the plan affects 10 districts in a way that will require new elections later this year and that the election schedule for affected districts will follow the regular statewide cycle, with an August primary, a runoff as needed, and the November general election. He gave qualifying dates as May 19 through May 30 and said plans must be delivered to local election officials no later than April.

The plan also pairs incumbents in at least one district: Kirby said the drawing pairs Senators Polk and Johnson in District 44. He said the newly drawn DeSoto County district and the Forest County/Hattiesburg district each have no incumbent.

After discussion, the committee voted to find the title sufficient and adopted the measure in committee. "Senator Michelle moves the title sufficient," the chair announced. The motion carried on voice vote; the committee then voted to rise and report the measure to the next legislative day. Kirby said the committee intends to bring the resolution up on the floor "tomorrow afternoon, after lunch."

The plaintiffs in pending litigation submitted their own proposed plan to the committee, Kirby said, and committee staff had provided affected members an opportunity to view and comment on drafts. Kirby emphasized multiple iterations and numerous meetings with members and staff over recent months to craft the proposal.

No formal roll-call tallies were recorded in the committee transcript; the committee recorded voice votes and adopted the motions to approve the minutes, find the title sufficient and rise and report the measure to the chamber.