Lawmakers on Monday took the first steps toward potentially redrawing Mississippi鈥檚 legislative, congressional and judicial districts in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 landmark Louisiana v. Callais decision that weakened minority voting protections.
The Joint Redistricting and Reapportionment Committee, comprised of House members and senators, met at the state Capitol for the first time since the Supreme Court ruling. The state legislative committee will solicit input from voters in eight different areas of the state over the next two months on how the districts should be redrawn in light of the Callais decision.
The committee also voted to hire attorneys from Butler Snow to serve as general counsel. Republican Sen. Dean Kirby from Pearl was elected chairman of the committee, and Republican Rep. Noah Sanford of Collins was named vice chair.
Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann declined to say which districts he thinks the committee should prioritize or even if it was certain the committee will redraw judicial, legislative and congressional districts.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to pre-suppose anything,鈥� Hosemann said. 鈥淭he committee needs to do its work. They鈥檙e going to be going all over Mississippi hearing from people.鈥�
Though the committee has scheduled eight hearings, some voting rights activists worry the hearings are merely a facade, and lawmakers have already made up their mind to dismantle majority Black districts.
Amir Badat is the Southern states director and senior adviser for Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy organization. He told Mississippi Today in a statement that the committee鈥檚 redistricting process is 鈥減utting lipstick on a pig.鈥�
鈥淎t its core, this process is an effort to diminish Black political power,鈥� Badat said. 鈥淣o number of meetings or public hearings will change that fact. If the joint committee truly cared about what the public wants, it would end this sham process before it begins.鈥�
The joint hearing came after Scott Colom, Mississippi鈥檚 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, organized a voting-rights town hall on Saturday evening with Democratic U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Mississippi NAACP Director Charles Taylor.
The panel encouraged the roughly 100 attendees at Farish Street Baptist Church in Jackson to make sure they鈥檙e registered to vote, help register other people to vote and turn out to vote in record numbers.
Alsobrooks told Mississippi Today that she would encourage Mississippians to 鈥渟tay the course and keep fighting鈥� against efforts to weaken majority Black districts.
鈥淚t was not all that long ago, we鈥檙e reminded, that John Lewis walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and was beaten within an inch of his life with a pole that was wrapped in barbed wire鈥� as he marched for voting rights for Black people, Alsobrooks said. 鈥淚t was a sacrosanct right that we鈥檙e never going to give up.鈥�
If the committee decides to tackle congressional redistricting, Thompson, Mississippi鈥檚 lone Black and Democratic official in Washington, will almost certainly be targeted by the majority-Republican state Legislature.
Some Republicans, such as state Auditor Shad White, have called on the Legislature to effectively dismantle Thompson鈥檚 district, which comprises portions of the Jackson metro area and the majority-Black Delta.
Thompson told Mississippi Today on Saturday that his campaign team will be monitoring the hearings and hopes state lawmakers will truly be receptive to the comments they gather from the public hearings.
鈥淚 hope their work will be done in public and not behind closed doors,鈥� Thompson said.
Here is the schedule of hearings that will take place at 6 p.m.:
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