Arguments set in Miss. county redistricting cases

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on June 4 in lawsuits pertaining to 11 Mississippi counties that failed to redraw supervisor district lines for the 2011 election.

JACKSON – (AP) A federal appeals court has scheduled oral arguments for June 4 in lawsuits challenging the failure of 11 Mississippi counties to redraw supervisor district lines in time for the 2011 election.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in New Orleans.

In March of 2011, local branches of the NAACP filed lawsuits that sought to extend election qualifying deadlines in the counties until voting boundaries could be redrawn based on new, 2010 census information.

Mississippi’s census numbers were released in February of 2011 and local officials said they needed time to redraw districts and get the new boundaries approved by the federal government.

Attorneys for the NAACP said pushing all qualifying deadlines from March 1 to June 1 would have given county supervisors more time to redraw districts. Each county has five supervisor districts.

The NAACP contends county supervisors ran in districts that were malapportioned, diluting the voting strength of minorities. It is unclear whether they would seek new elections or some other remedy if the court rules their way.

Lawyers for the counties argue local officials could do nothing to get lines drawn and approved within the shortened time frame they had.

Federal judges in Mississippi sided with the counties in decisions last year.

The counties involved are Hancock, Madison, Simpson, Amite, Wayne, Claiborne, Adams, Copiah, Warren, Tunica and Tallahatchie.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*