DeSoto County could see new state Senate district
“The Mississippi Legislature effectively cracked the majority-Black community in Horn Lake across three districts and split Horn Lake and the historically Black town of Jago rather than keeping them together,” the federal court wrote. (The Daily Memphian file)
DeSoto County could get a new state Senate district after a federal court recently said Mississippi’s legislative districts need to be redrawn by November.
A federal court ruled earlier this month that Mississippi’s current legislative districts dilute Black voting power and state lawmakers need to draw new majority-minority districts. The U. S. District Court of the Southern District of Mississippi said the state’s 2022 redistricting maps violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but it stopped short of labeling the boundaries unconstitutional gerrymanders.
“The task now is to establish a remedy,” the court wrote.
Mississippi pushes for more time to redraw Black-majority districts
Plaintiffs, including the Mississippi State Conference for the NAACP, argued at trial that new state House and Senate districts should be created that include higher concentrations of Black voters.
The suggested map below includes a new majority-Black district expanding from Tunica County through Walls and Horn Lake in DeSoto County.
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North Mississippi DeSoto County redistricting Gov. Tate Reeves Subscriber OnlyWill you help us reach more Memphians with quality, in-depth local news?
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Rob Moore
Rob Moore covers North Mississippi for The Daily Memphian. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in English from The University of Memphis.
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