US Supreme Court reverses ruling against Mississippi legislative redistricting

By Taylor Vance | Originally published by Mississippi Today

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a brief order on Monday, reversed a lower court’s ruling that determined Mississippi lawmakers unlawfully diluted Black voting strength when it redrew the state’s legislative districts. 

Monday’s order from the high court sends the case back to the lower federal court for further arguments in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Callais decision, which rolled back protections against racial discrimination in the redistricting process.

READ MORE: FAQ: Mississippi redistricting. Why does it matter? What’s being considered?

The order contained no legal justification or reasoning. Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson was the sole dissenter from the order. She wrote that she dissented because the only issue raised in the appeal was whether private groups could file a lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act. 

The ruling stems from a federal three-judge panel’s order in May 2025 that determined Mississippi lawmakers did not give Black voters in three areas of the state a fair chance to elect voters of their choice and ordered the state to conduct special elections for the new districts. 

The state attorney general’s office appealed a portion of that ruling last year. It did not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate the entire order. It only asked the high court to rule that private citizens did not have a right to file litigation under the Voting Rights Act. 

During the special elections last year resulting from the lower federal court’s order, the Democrats flipped one House seat and two Senate seats.  

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article