Mississippi election officials argue against quick work on drawing new majority-Black districts

Mississippi election officials say redrawing legislative districts in time for this November’s election is impossible because of tight deadlines to prepare ballots. Attorneys for the all-Republican state Board of Election Commissioners filed arguments Wednesday. They responded to a July 2 ruling by three federal judges who ordered the Mississippi House and Senate to reconfigure some legislative districts. The judges said current districts dilute Black voting power in three parts of the state. The Mississippi NAACP and several Black residents sued the state in 2022. The judges said they wanted new districts drawn before the next regular legislative session begins in January.