Jackson, Miss. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday that he will call a special redistricting session once the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case. Voting Rights Act issue This has wide-ranging implications for minority representation across the country.
During oral arguments last fall, the Supreme Court came up About to hit Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which has been used to address racially discriminatory election practices. A decision in Louisiana v. Calais is expected before the court’s term expires in June.
Repealing Section 2 would give state legislatures and local governments the opportunity to redraw maps while keeping minority voters from voting. The difficult ones Reduces their influence…a decision that erases one of the pillars of 1965 Voting Rights Act It could help Republicans win seats in the U.S. House of Representatives by eliminating Democratic-leaning districts that are majority black or Latino, especially in the South. Most of these redrawings will not happen in time for this year’s midterm elections.
The special session declaration, which Reeves signed Thursday, relates to a specific issue involving the Mississippi Supreme Court’s judicial districts. Last August, a federal judge ordered the state of Mississippi to do so Redrawing the electoral map for the Supreme Court After it was found to violate Section 2 by diluting the power of black voters.
The lack of a ruling in the Louisiana case “deprived the Mississippi Legislature of its undisputed federally recognized right” to remedy a Title 2 violation, Reeves wrote in his announcement.
The governor said in a social media post that he hopes the Supreme Court will “reaffirm the moving principle that all Americans are created equal.” He said that the legislature will hold a special session 21 days after the Supreme Court issues its ruling in the Louisiana case.