Supreme Court reverses ruling on Mississippi legislative redistricting

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

The high court sent the case back to the lower federal court for further arguments in light of its recent Callais decision, which rolled back protections against racial discrimination in the redistricting process, the order said. The order included no legal justification or reasoning.

Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter. She wrote that she disagreed because the only issue raised in the appeal was whether private groups could sue under the Voting Rights Act, according to her dissent.

The dispute stems from a federal three-judge panel’s May 2025 order that found Mississippi lawmakers did not give Black voters in three areas a fair chance to elect candidates of their choice and ordered special elections for new districts, the panel said. The state attorney general’s office appealed part of that ruling last year and asked the Supreme Court to decide whether private citizens have the right to bring suits under the Voting Rights Act, the appeal shows.

During the special elections held last year under the lower court’s order, Democrats flipped one House seat and two Senate seats, the lower court’s proceedings showed.

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