Redistricting Hearings Set for Eight Mississippi Towns, Beginning in Tupelo on August 18
Mississippi's joint legislative redistricting committee has organized and set a schedule of eight public hearings across the state, beginning at Itawamba Community College in Tupelo on August 18.
At its first meeting, members of the Mississippi Standing Joint Legislative Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting elected Sen. Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, as chairman, Rep. Noah Sanford, R-Collins, as vice chair, and Rep. Rodney Hall, R-Southaven, as secretary.
Kirby named the Butler Snow law firm and Ted Booth as staff counsel to the committee. Ben Collins and Neil Smith were named to work on the technical aspects of drawing the district maps.
All eight hearings begin at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Mississippi Legislature's YouTube channel. After Tupelo on August 18, the committee travels to Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia on August 27; Delta State University in Cleveland on September 1; Alcorn State University in Natchez on September 8; a location yet to be determined in Meridian on September 10; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg on September 17; Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gulfport on September 22; and the Mississippi Capitol Building in Jackson on September 24.
The committee draws members from both chambers. Speaker Jason White, R-West, appointed House members on June 24. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann named his Senate appointees on July 28, assigning two senators to each of the state's four congressional districts: Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, and Angela Turner-Ford, D-West Point, to the 1st; Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, and Albert Butler, D-Port Gibson, to the 2nd; Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, and Kirby to the 3rd; and Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, and Mike Thompson, R-Long Beach, to the 4th. Sens. Jeremy England of Vancleave and Lane Taylor of Philadelphia, the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, oversee the process.
“I have full confidence these members will respectfully and thoroughly study redistricting, understanding the magnitude of this responsibility,” Hosemann said in a July 28 statement. “Just as the committee brought forward thoughtful proposals in 2022, I expect this committee to do the same.”
The committee's work follows the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which curtailed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. After that ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated an order by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock that had required Mississippi to redraw its state Supreme Court districts.
The committee will consider legislative, congressional and state Supreme Court maps. Gov. Tate Reeves has said publicly that he may call a special session on redistricting before the next regular session begins, and that the work will be completed before the 2027 election. The qualifying deadline for candidates is February 1, 2027.
The committee has not published a timetable for producing draft maps.