Mississippi Senate committee rejects bid to undo majority-Black districts

The Mississippi Senate Rules Committee on Monday rejected a last-minute Republican resolution that would have reverted two majority-Black Senate districts to their pre-2024 boundaries if the U.S. Supreme Court weakens the Voting Rights Act.

No member of the committee voted to advance the measure, and Sen. Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, said the resolution was dead because the panel did not want to take action, according to comments made during the meeting.

The resolution was filed by Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, with days left in the 2026 legislative session. England told Mississippi Today he filed the so-called “trigger” resolution because the Legislature’s 2022 redistricting had considered factors such as preserving communities of interest and keeping districts compact, and he said he voted for those maps when they were debated.

A federal three-judge panel ruled in 2024 that Mississippi’s 2022 redistricting unconstitutionally diluted Black voting strength, and the order led to 14 special legislative elections last year, Mississippi Today reported. To comply, lawmakers created a majority-Black House district in the Chickasaw County area and majority-Black Senate districts in the Hattiesburg and DeSoto County areas, the report said.

The special elections produced two new Democratic legislators, Johnny DuPree of Hattiesburg and Theresa Gillespie-Isom of Southaven, in areas previously held by Republicans, Mississippi Today reported. DuPree told Mississippi Today he would oppose England’s resolution, calling it “another barrier that prevents voters from electing a representative of their choice.” Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, who leads Senate Democrats, said he does not believe Mississippi’s litigation would be invalidated simply because the U.S. Supreme Court restricts parts of the Voting Rights Act, according to his remarks.

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