Judge rules against effort to create majority-Black DeSoto County districts
Source: AP
Updated 3:24 PM EDT, June 25, 2026
U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled Wednesday that the plaintiffs in Harris v. DeSoto County did not provide enough evidence that DeSoto County district maps were drawn to intentionally dilute Black voting power. In ruling for DeSoto County, Davidson wrote, “plaintiffs cannot prove their claims for vote dilution pursuant to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and judgment must be awarded to defendants.”. Davidson’s ruling comes after hearing arguments in the case in March.
The federal lawsuit, filed in September of 2024, alleged that the 2022 DeSoto County electoral map diluted Black voting power in county office elections. The plaintiffs sought a new redistricting plan and special elections for positions on the boards of supervisors and education and for the election commission, plus the offices of constable and justice court judge.
The ruling comes in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Louisiana v Callias. The decision weakened the federal Voting Rights Act’s protections against racially discriminatory redistricting.
The ruling triggered protests and political battles over redistricting and the future of voting rights across the country. The ACLU of Mississippi released a stateme nt calling the decision in the DeSoto County case “deeply disappointing.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-desoto-county-black-voting-rights-a9ea4e0c24004bf1d0a6cc338d994c2d
This is in Mississippi.
ACLU PRESS RELEASE - ACLU of MS Statement on Ruling on DeSoto County’s Supervisor Districts
REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143266187