Mississippi Supreme Court justices hear arguments in Jackson, Mississippi, July 6, 2023. A judge on Friday ordered a special election for the court after earlier finding that the election map used to select judges violated the Voting Rights Act.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP
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Rogelio V. Solis/AP
JACKSON, Mississippi. A judge on Friday ordered a special election for the Mississippi Supreme Court after previously finding that the electoral map used to select judges violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock in August ordered Mississippi to redraw the map adopted in 1987, concluding that the current configuration weakens the power of black voters. Friday's decision gives the Mississippi Legislature until the end of the 2026 regular session to redraw the map.
Section 2, which is the primary way plaintiffs can challenge racially discriminatory election practices, is currently being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Once the Legislature approves the new map, Aycock wrote that she will move quickly to meet the deadline for a November 2026 special election.
Aycock also wrote that she would delay deciding which seats would be subject to special elections until a new map was adopted.
The order follows a 2022 lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the current map cuts the Mississippi Delta region — a historically Black area — in half, reducing the Black vote in the Central District.
“Mississippi is nearly 40 percent black, but the nine-member court has never had more than one black judge,” Ari Savitsky, senior attorney for the ACLU Voting Rights Project, wrote in a statement. “We are thrilled to see justice on the horizon.”
In her August ruling, Aycock noted that only four black people have served on the Mississippi Supreme Court. They all occupied the same seat in the Central District and were first appointed to this position by the current governor.
The Mississippi Secretary of State's Office is appealing Aycock's August decision. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the proceedings pending the outcome of the SCOTUS case and other related cases.
The offices of the Mississippi secretary of state and attorney general did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In December, two Mississippi Supreme Court justices were appointed to federal judgeships. Gov. Tate Reeves will appoint a replacement until new judges are elected.
In Mississippi, Supreme Court elections are nonpartisan.
