Mississippi Governor Calls Special Session to Redraw Supreme Court Districts After Pending Supreme Court Voting-Rights Ruling

On April 24, 2026 Gov. Tate Reeves announced a special legislative session to redraw Mississippi’s Supreme Court districts. The session will open 21 days after the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Louisiana v. Callais, which could affect Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Mississippi will reexamine judicial redistricts after US Supreme Court rules in voting rights caseUsNews and World ReportMississippi governor orders lawmakers to return to capitol after SCOTUS rules on voting rights case

Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act bars racial vote-dilution. In Louisiana v. Callais, plaintiffs contest a map that created only one majority-Black district out of six, though African Americans comprise about one-third of the population. Louisiana’s map gave one majority-Black district in 2022 and added a second in 2024, later challenged as racial gerrymandering. Mississippi’s Supreme Court map was found to dilute Black voting strength, prompting the August order. Overturning Section 2 could let Republicans gain House seats by reducing majority-Black or Latino districts, though changes would miss the 2026 midterms.

Mississippi governor orders lawmakers to return to capitol after SCOTUS rules on voting rights case

• Last August – Judge Sharion Aycock ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court districts for violating Section 2.

Mississippi will reexamine judicial redistricts after US Supreme Court rules in voting rights case

• April 24, 2026 – Gov. Reeves announced the special session, set to convene 21 days after the Supreme Court’s expected June 2026 decision in Louisiana v. Callais.

Mississippi governor orders lawmakers to return to capitol after SCOTUS rules on voting rights case

Reeves’ proclamation said the pending Callais decision “deprived the Mississippi Legislature of its undisputed federally recognized right to remedy the Section 2 violation” and expressed hope the Court “will reaffirm the animating principle that all Americans are created equal.” Legal scholars and civil-rights groups warn that weakening Section 2 would erode safeguards against racial vote dilution and note the potential Republican advantage underscores a partisan motive.

Mississippi will reexamine judicial redistricts after US Supreme Court rules in voting rights case

• “deprived the Mississippi Legislature of its undisputed federally recognized right' to remedy the Section 2 violation. The governor in a social media post said he hoped the Supreme Court” — Tate Reeves, Governor of Mississippi

Mississippi will reexamine judicial redistricts after US Supreme Court rules in voting rights case

• “The governor in a social media post said he hoped the Supreme Court "will reaffirm the animating principle that all Americans are created equal.” — Tate Reeves, social-media post

Mississippi will reexamine judicial redistricts after US Supreme Court rules in voting rights case

• “The entire world knows the Callais decision has not yet been handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. It is a decision that could (and in my view should) forever change the way we draw electoral maps,” — Tate Reeves, statement

Mississippi governor orders lawmakers to return to capitol after SCOTUS rules on voting rights case

• “It is my belief and federal law requires that the Mississippi Legislature be given the first opportunity to draw these maps. And the fact is, they haven’t had a fair opportunity to do that because of the pending Callais decision.” — Tate Reeves, statement

Mississippi governor orders lawmakers to return to capitol after SCOTUS rules on voting rights case

• “when the government classifies its citizens on the basis of race, even as a perceived remedy to right a wrong, it engages in the offensive and demeaning assumption that Americans of a particular race, because of their race, think alike and share the same interests and preferences.” — Tate Reeves, statement

Mississippi governor orders lawmakers to return to capitol after SCOTUS rules on voting rights case

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Callais in summer 2026. Mississippi’s legislature will convene 21 days after that decision to comply with Judge Aycock’s order and redraw the Supreme Court’s electoral map, influencing state judicial composition and national voting-rights debates.

Mississippi governor orders lawmakers to return to capitol after SCOTUS rules on voting rights case