A House select committee in Mississippi received a primer on redistricting Monday from Joseph “Dallas” Breen, director of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. Breen emphasized the core principle of equal representation, or one person, one vote, in his presentation at the state Capitol.
Breen outlined the basic principles of redistricting, including population equality, district contiguity, compactness, respecting communities of interest, and compliance with federal law. The session focused on the fundamentals, with little mention of the recent Supreme Court ruling that has heightened concerns over partisan gerrymandering and voting rights protections.
Mississippi lawmakers have been actively engaged in redistricting efforts following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Callais decision, which weakened protections under the federal Voting Rights Act. House Speaker Jason White appointed a 16-member committee—comprising only five Democrats—to consider redistricting laws, fairness, transparency, and legal compliance.
Meanwhile, a joint House and Senate committee has also been formed to handle the actual drawing of legislative, judicial, and congressional districts. That committee has begun holding hearings across the state, with plans to recommend new voting maps before the legislative session concludes. Voting rights advocates remain wary, fearing efforts to diminish Black voting rights in Mississippi, which has the largest Black population in the country but few Black elected officials.
Following the Callais ruling, some GOP leaders have suggested heavy partisan gerrymandering, including redrawing district lines to target Rep. Bennie Thompson, the state’s only Black member of Congress. Critics from civil rights organizations questioned the purpose of the House committee, with Sonya Williams-Barnes of the Southern Poverty Law Center asking, “Why are we really here?”
Rep. Noah Sanford, co-chair of the House committee, described it as primarily a “study committee” and downplayed concerns about major redistricting upheavals. He emphasized that any map would need at least 62 votes in the House and that district boundaries should reflect community interests, including keeping counties and cities intact.
Governor Tate Reeves has indicated he may call a special legislative session later this year to address state redistricting ahead of next year’s elections. However, with Mississippi’s midterm primaries already held in March, significant changes before November seem unlikely, though efforts to redraw congressional maps remain a possibility.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
