Mississippi

Congressional

Primary Authority: The Mississippi Legislature enacts congressional plans, subject to the Governor’s veto. The Legislature can override a veto with a 2/3 vote in each chamber. Republicans currently have a veto-proof majority in the upper chamber, and no party has a veto-proof majority in the lower chamber.

If a bill is presented to the Governor during session, the Governor has 5 days to sign or veto it; otherwise, it becomes law without signature. If the Legislature adjourns during the initial 5-day period, the Governor must sign or veto it within 15 days of transmittal; otherwise, it becomes law without signature. The Governor must return a vetoed bill to the Legislature in the first 3 days of its next session. Sundays are excluded from these calculations.

Advisory Commission: The Joint Congressional Redistricting Committee draws and proposes a congressional plan to the Governor and the Mississippi Legislature, which is free to use, amend, or reject it. The 20-member advisory body is composed of the chairman and vice chairman of the Apportionment and Elections Committee in the Mississippi House, the chairman and vice chairman of the Elections Committee in the Senate, 8 Mississippi House members (2 from each congressional district) appointed by the Speaker of the Mississippi House, and 8 Mississippi Senate members (2 from each congressional district) appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. Committee actions require a majority vote. [Miss. Code Ann. §§ 5-3-121, 5-3-123, 5-3-129]

Mapping Timeline: The advisory committee must prepare and submit its proposed congressional plan to the Legislature no later than 30 days prior to the convening of its next regular session after the results of the decennial census are published. However, the committee is not required to present a plan prior to 4 months after the publication of decennial census results. There is no deadline specified for the Legislature’s enactment of a final congressional plan. [Miss. Code Ann. § 5-3-123]

Redistricting Criteria: None.

Map Challenges: Not specified.

Legislative

Primary Authority: The Mississippi Legislature adopts legislative plans by joint resolution, not subject to the Governor’s veto. [Miss. Const. art. XIII, § 254]

Advisory Commission: The Standing Joint Legislative Committee on Reapportionment draws and proposes legislative plans to the Governor and the Mississippi Legislature, which is free to use, amend, or reject them. The 20-member advisory body is composed of the chairman and vice chairman of the Apportionment and Elections Committee in the Mississippi House, the chairman and vice chairman of the Elections Committee in the Senate, 8 Mississippi House members (2 from each congressional district) appointed by the Speaker of the Mississippi House, and 8 Mississippi Senate members (2 from each congressional district) appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. Committee actions require a majority vote. [Miss. Code Ann. §§ 5-3-91]

Backup Commission: If the Legislature fails to adopt final plans by its second deadline, a 5-member commission is convened to draw and adopt them. It is comprised of the Chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, who serves as chair, along with the Attorney General, Secretary of State, Speaker of the Mississippi House, and President of the Mississippi Senate. [Miss. Const. art. XIII, § 254]

Mapping Timeline: The Committee on Reapportionment must present its proposed plan to the Legislature and Governor no later than 15 days prior to the scheduled adjournment of the next regular session following the receipt of decennial census data, but in no event prior to 4 months after decennial census results are published. The legislative committees the plans are referred to must report their recommendations to their respective chambers by the 45th day of the legislative session. The Legislature must adopt final plans by the end of that session and, if it fails to do so, the Governor must convene a special session within 30 days of adjournment, lasting no longer than 30 days, for the purpose of adopting legislative plans.

If the Legislature fails to adopt plans by the end of the special session, the 5-member backup commission is immediately convened and must adopt final legislative plans within 180 days of the special session’s adjournment. Plans become effective upon filing with the Secretary of State. [Miss. Const. art. XIII, § 254; Miss. Code Ann. §§ 5-3-93, 5-3-103]

Redistricting Criteria: Contiguous; Compact; Minimize divisions of governmental or political subdivision boundaries; Adhere to county lines as close as possible. [Miss. Const. art. XIII, § 254; Miss. Code Ann. § 5-3-101]

Map Challenges: Not specified.

Ballot Measure & Referendum Processes

Types of Measures: Initiatives and referendums are not permitted to amend statutes. Indirect initiatives are permitted to amend the state constitution. Legislatively initiated ballot measures may amend the state constitution, but not statutes.

Single-Subject Rule: No.

Initiative Subject Restrictions: Initiatives cannot be used for the proposal, modification, or repeal of the state constitution’s Bill of Rights, state constitutional provisions relating to the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System, constitutional protections for the right of any person to work without being denied or abridged on account of their membership or non-membership in any labor union or organization, and the initiative process for proposing amendments.

Signature Requirements: Constitutional amendments require 12% of all votes cast for all candidates for Governor in the last gubernatorial election. Since Mississippi holds gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years and the circulation period for petitions is one year, signature requirements are based on elections that occurred at least 3 years prior. No more than 20% of signatures can be collected from a single congressional district. For ballot measures to be placed on the 2023 ballot, signature requirements will be based on the 2019 gubernatorial election. 884,911 voted for a gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 election, so 106,190 signatures are required for constitutional amendments.

Submission Deadlines: Initiative petitions must be submitted at least 90 days prior to the convening of the Legislature in the year the petition is to appear on the ballot.

Circulation Period: The circulation period for initiative petitions is 1 year.

Ballot Title and Summary: The ballot title and summary are written by the Attorney General. Expedited reviews for titles and summaries are permitted.

Other Requirements: Circulators must be residents of the state. A fiscal impact statement is required for all initiatives and legislative alternatives. For initiative amendments to be approved, at least 40% of all ballots cast in the election must vote on the measure and a majority of ballots cast on the measure must be in favor. Legislatively referred amendments only require a majority of votes cast for it to be approved. The Legislature can only send an amendment to voters by passing it with a 2/3 vote in each chamber. Initiatives are permitted on general election ballots, but not on primary, special, and odd-year election ballots.

[Miss. Const. art. XV, § 273; Miss. Code Ann. §§ 23-17-1 – 23-17-61; Mississippi Secretary of State Website]

Previous Redistricting Cycles

2020

• Congressional
  • Original Plan – HB 384
    • Passed = January 12, 2022 (R-controlled)
    • Signed = January 24, 2022
  • Litigation History
    • Smith v. Clark III, No. 3:01-cv-855 (S.D. Miss. May 23, 2022): Various parties to the prior decade's lawsuits filed motions with the federal district court regarding the validity of the statutorily enacted congressional plan and how it comported with the court's previous injunctions. On May 23, 2022, the district court issued an opinion and order vacating the 2011 final judgment but declining to rule on the constitutionality of the new congressional redistricting plan on the grounds it was not necessary to their ruling as to the prior judgment.
• Legislative
  • Original Plans – JR 1 (House); JR 202 (Senate)
    • Passed = March 31, 2022 (R-controlled) (Joint resolution w/o Governor’s signature)
  • Litigation History
    • None

2010

• Congressional
  • Federal Court’s Plan (Split-controlled Legislature failed to pass plan)
    • Adopted = December 30, 2011
  • Litigation History
    • Smith v. Hosemann, 852 F.Supp.2d 757 (S.D. Miss. 2011): After the Mississippi Legislature failed to pass a congressional plan by its legal deadline, the federal court which had ordered the state’s congressional districts in 2002 was petitioned to amend its earlier order and adopt new congressional districts as to reflect the 2010 census. On December 30, 2011, the district court issued its opinion adopting the congressional plan it proposed in its December 19, 2011 order.
• Legislative
  • Original Plans – JR 1 (House); JR 201 (Senate)
    • Passed = May 2, 2012 (House); May 3, 2012 (Senate)
    • Signed = May 8-9, 2012 (House); May 7-8, 2012 (Senate)
    • Preclearance = Granted on September 14, 2012
  • Litigation History
    • Miss. State Conf. of the NAACP v. Barbour, No. 3:11-cv-159 (S.D. Miss. May 16, 2011): After the 2010 census results were released, plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s legislative districts as now violating the one person, one vote constitutional requirement due to population shifts and requesting the court to order new districts be implemented prior to the 2011 legislative elections. On May 16, 2011, the district court ruled that it would be improper for the federal court to impose a remedy at that time because the Legislature was not required to reapportion itself until 2012 and let the 2011 elections proceed under the old maps.
      • Aff’d, 132 S.Ct. 542 (2011).
    • Thomas v. Bryant, 366 F.Supp.3d 786 (S.D. Miss. 2019): A group of African-American voters filed a federal lawsuit challenging one of the state’s senatorial districts as violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act on the grounds of vote dilution. On February 16, 2019, the district court ruled for the plaintiffs and ordered the district at issue to be redrawn.
      • Aff’d, Thomas v. Bryant, 938 F.3d 134 (5th Cir. 2019); vacated as moot, Thomas v. Reeves, 961 F.3d 800 (5th Cir. 2020).
      • Remedial Senate Plan – JR 202
        • Passed = March 27, 2019 (R-controlled)
        • Signed = April 3, 2019

2000

• Congressional
  • Federal Court’s Plan (Adopted after D-controlled Legislature failed to pass plan in time for 2002 election)
    • Adopted = February 26, 2002
  • Litigation History
    • Smith v. Clark, 189 F.Supp.2d 512 (S.D. Miss. 2002): After the Democratic-controlled Legislature failed to pass a congressional plan, plaintiffs filed lawsuits in both federal and state court challenging the existing congressional map as unconstitutionally malapportioned and seeking to have the court draw and adopt a new plan. The state court adopted a plan, but when preclearance for that plan took too long, the federal court enjoined the implementation of the state court’s plan and adopted its own plan, proposed on February 4, 2002, for use in the 2002 primary and general elections on February 26, 2002.
      • Aff’d, Branch v. Smith, 538 U.S. 254 (2003)
    • Mauldin v. Branch, 866 So.2d 429 (Miss. 2003): After the state court adopted a congressional redistricting plan when the Legislature failed to do so, the issue of whether the state court had authority to adopt the congressional plan was appealed to the state Supreme Court. On December 18, 2003, the Supreme Court of Mississippi ruled that the chancery court lacked jurisdiction over the case and that the only state governmental entity authorized to draw new congressional districts was the Legislature.
• Legislative
  • Original Plans – JR 1 (House); JR 201 (Senate)
    • Passed = March 21, 2002 (D-controlled)
    • Signed = March 26, 2002 (House); March 25-26, 2002 (Senate)
    • Preclearance = Granted on June 17, 2002
  • Litigation History
    • Woullard v. State, No. 3:05-cv-97 (S.D. Miss. June 29, 2006): Registered Mississippi voters filed a federal lawsuit challenging portions of the Legislature’s enacted Senate redistricting plan as a racial gerrymander in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. On June 29, 2006, the district court ruled in favor of the defendants and upheld the plan after finding that racial considerations did not predominate when drawing the challenged district.

In The News

• Some Mississippi legislative districts dilute Black voting power and must be redrawn, judges say, AP (7/3/24)
• Mississippi Racial Gerrymandering Trial Targets State House, Senate Maps, Mississippi Free Press (3/7/24)
• NAACP Sues Mississippi Over Legislative Redistricting Plan, AP (12/21/22)
• Mississippi House and Senate OK Each Other’s Redistricting, AP (3/31/22)
• Mississippi House, Senate Pass Separate Redistricting Plans, AP (3/29/22)
• Mississippi Reveals Redistricting for State House and Senate, AP (3/27/22)
• Mississippi Governor Signs Bill for Congressional Remap, AP (1/24/22)
• Mississippi House of Representatives Passes Redistricting Plans, MPB (1/7/22)
• Redistricting Committee Finalizes Mississippi Congressional Map Proposal, Expanding 2nd District, Clarion Ledger (12/15/21)
• Census Bureau Working Begin Knocking on Doors in Mississippi as Response Rate Remains Low, Mississippi Clarion Ledger (8/18/20)