SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
What’s going on in Mississippi
Process
State Legislative Districts
Mississippi's state legislative lines are drawn by the Legislature by joint resolution without threat of gubernatorial veto. If the Legislature fails to adopt a state legislative map, the task falls to a partisan backup commission currently controlled by Republicans.
Congressional Districts
Mississippi's state legislative and congressional lines are drawn by the Legislature by ordinary statute, and are subject to the Governor's veto. The Legislature can override vetoes with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
Criteria
In addition to the federal requirements of one person, one vote and the Voting Rights Act, Mississippi’s state constitution (Art. XIII § 254) requires that state legislative districts be contiguous. Mississippi statute (Code § 5-3-101) requires that districts also be compact, and avoid county splits. When the court drew the map in 2011, it provided an additional analysis of factors considered including communities of interest, specifically involving historical and regional interests along with universities and military bases.
Public Input
In 2012, the Joint Legislative Committee on Reapportionment adopted a public access policy to open the redistricting process to the public. Any citizen can submit written comments and present proposed plans at public meetings or through written submissions.
In the last redistricting cycle, the committee held 11 public hearings between August and September 2010 and a set of hearings in February 2011; a similar public input process is likely in 2021.
Issues
Pitfalls
Following the election of another Republican Governor in 2019, Mississippi continues to have a government trifecta. In addition, the state Senate is now a Republican supermajority. Single-party control increases the risk of partisan and racial gerrymandering. Mississippi is at special risk of racial gerrymandering because of its substantial Black population.
Additionally, this will be Mississippi’s first cycle without the protections of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which was struck down in the 2013 Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder. In the absence of preclearance requirements to protect communities of color, observers should closely monitor every step of the redistricting process to ensure fair treatment for all.
Census Delays
- State legislative redistricting plan final deadline: end of regular session in 2022; likely April 3, 2022 (Art. XIII § 254)
- Backup special session: June 2, 2022
- Backup commission: November 29, 2022
- Congressional redistricting plan deadline: no statutory deadline
- Initial plan deadline: 30 days before session; likely December 5, 2021 (Code. § 5-3-123)
The Census Bureau may delay sending population data to states until as late as July 31, 2021. As Mississippi has a late deadline for state legislative redistricting and no statutory deadline for congressional redistricting, the data delay should have little to no impact.
History
Because of Mississippi’s off-year election cycle, the 2011 redistricting year coincided with gubernatorial and state legislative elections. This created an extremely tight schedule for redistricting; ultimately, after high partisan tensions, the state Legislature did not complete plans in time. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a trial court decision allowing old districts to be used in the 2011 elections.
After the elections, the Legislature also failed to produce a constitutionally acceptable congressional map, so a federal court implemented a new map on December 30, 2011. In 2012, the Legislature pushed through a state legislative redistricting plan that was approved by the Justice Department, as then required under Section 5 preclearance, on September 14, 2012.
Actions
In 2020, support state legislative candidates who favor fair districting.
In 2021, participate in the Legislature’s public input process.
- Obtain Mississippi redistricting data from OpenPrecincts.
- Start to plan out what defines your community – whether it’s a shared economic interest, school districts, or other social or other cultural, historical, or economic interests – and how that can be represented on a map. This will come in handy once the Legislature starts collecting feedback.
- Use software tools such as Dave's Redistricting App and Districtr to draw district maps showing either (a) what a fair map would look like, or (b) where the community you believe should be better represented is located.
Take advantage of Mississippi’s ballot initiative process to establish an independent redistricting process, as states like California and Michigan did.
- Read the Common Cause Activist Handbook on Redistricting Reform to learn about what reforms have been successful in the past, and what steps to take to enact reform in the future.
Contacts
Data provided by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project