Five House seats will be re-decided in a November special election, pending court approval, under a resolution the House approved to comply with a federal court order.
Even though voters just elected members of the Legislature in 2023, the races will be held again because a three-judge federal panel determined last year that the Legislature did not create enough Black-majority districts when it redrew its districts.
The panel ordered the state to redraw the districts and create a new majority-Black district in north Mississippi’s Chickasaw County.
House Elections Chairman Noah Sanford, R-Collins, told House members he believes the new map complies with the federal Voting Rights Act and will allow Black voters in Chickasaw County to elect a candidate of their choice.
“I tried to keep the number of members affected minimal,” Sanford said.
The House plan does not require incumbent legislators to run against each other. The main change in the new map is that it makes the District 22 seat in Chickasaw County, currently held by Republican Rep. Jon Lancaster of Houston, who is white and a majority-Black voter district.
The other four House districts that lawmakers voted to redraw are:
- House District 16: Rep. Rickey Thompson, D-Shannon
- House District 36: Karl Gibbs, D-West Point
- House District 39: Dana McLean, R-Columbus
- House District 41: Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus
Lancaster told Mississippi Today he did not want to comment on the proposed maps since the litigation over the legislative districts was still pending, and he did not know if he would run in a November special election.
Under the legislation, the qualifying period will run from May 19 to May 30. The primary election will be held on August 5, with a potential primary runoff on September 2 and the general election on November 4.
The federal courts also ruled that the Senate must redraw its districts to create a new Black-majority district in the DeSoto County and Hattiesburg areas.
Senate Rules Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, has introduced a measure to change some Senate districts. However, he told Mississippi Today he is still tweaking the plan and does not know when the Rules Committee will debate it.
Once the Legislature passes a redistricting plan, it must go back before the federal courts for approval.
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