Trial opens over DeSoto voting map

A federal trial began Monday in Harris v. DeSoto County, a lawsuit brought by the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and several civil rights partners seeking to strike down what they argue is a racially discriminatory voting map in DeSoto County.

Filed in September 2024, the suit challenges the county’s 2022 redistricting plan, alleging it violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of Black residents. LDF, the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, the ACLU of Mississippi, and voting‑rights attorney Amir Badat represent Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the DeSoto County NAACP, and two local residents.

According to the complaint, the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors adopted a map that split majority‑Black communities — including Horn Lake — across all five districts, each of which remains majority‑white. No Black candidate has been elected to a county supervisor seat in more than 20 years, despite the county’s Black population rising from under 12 percent in 2000 to more than 36 percent today.

Advocates say the lack of representation has contributed to disparities in county employment, school resources, and health outcomes. LDF said DeSoto County is one of only 11 Mississippi counties without a Black supervisor.

“Democracy is at stake here in Mississippi,” said Brenda Wright, LDF special litigation and policy counsel. “These elections will never be truly free and fair if Black voters are continuously denied the opportunity to make positive changes to their home.”

Robert Tipton Jr., president of the DeSoto County NAACP, linked the issue to broader statewide inequities, saying diverse representation is essential to improving outcomes in education, health care, and economic opportunity.

The trial is expected to continue for two weeks.