Statement on Remedial Plans for Mississippi’s State Supreme Court Districts

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI - In August 2025, a federal court ruled that Mississippi’s Supreme Court district lines must be redrawn to ensure Black voters have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The ACLU of Mississippi has issued the following statement:

“Today, we sent a letter, on behalf of our plaintiffs, to legislators urging them to act now and enact new State Supreme Court district lines during the regular session. Legislators should act now because:

• A federal court held that the district lines, as drawn, dilute Black voting strength and violate the Voting Rights Act.

• The current districts have not changed since 1987 and deny Black voters an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. Change is long overdue.

• The federal court issued an injunction that prevents the current maps from being used in November elections. No State Supreme Court elections can take place until new maps are set.

• The Court has already vetted different plans that would remedy the violation of the Voting Rights Act.

• The vetted plans are compact, there are no county splits, and they are very similar to 2022 Congressional district adopted by the legislature.

We urge the Legislature to adopt this plan on a bipartisan basis.  Doing so will not only demonstrate leadership and good governance, but will avoid the financial cost, drama, and uncertainty of further litigation.  It will also ensure that there is no need for future litigation regarding the population imbalance in the current Supreme Court lines.”