Mississippi governor cancels special legislative session to redraw state supreme court maps

On Wednesday morning, Mississippi ’s governor, Tate Reeves, said that he is canceling a special legislative session that was scheduled to redraw the state’s supreme court districts next week. However, Reeves, a Republican, noted that he does expect the state to redraw its four congressional districts at some point in the near future. Reeves, in an appearance on SuperTalk radio, a conservative talk radio network, also said that it would be difficult for the state to redraw the congressional districts in the Republicans favor in time for the upcoming midterm elections, slated for November. Doing so might also hurt Republicans in congressional races. Mississippi held its primary elections for congressional seats in March, before the supreme court’s Louisiana v Callais ruling, which narrowed a key protection of the Voting Rights Act and spurred a number of Republican-led states to reconfigure their maps. But an immediate redrawing of the Mississippi’s congressional districts with the goal of eliminating Democratic seats would more than likely mean invalidating its primary results and making firmly Republican areas more competitive by adding more Democratic voters instead. …