Voting Rights Act and Redistricting

A federal judge, Sharion Aycock, ordered special elections for the Mississippi Supreme Court after finding the state’s 1987 election map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voting power and splitting the Delta, and gave the Legislature until the end of its 2026 regular session to adopt a new map. Aycock said she will move quickly to set special elections—likely in November 2026—once a map is approved and will decide which seats are subject to those elections then; the state is appealing the August ruling and the 5th Circuit has stayed proceedings pending U.S. Supreme Court action, while Gov. Tate Reeves is appointing temporary replacements for two justices recently named to federal judgeships.