Mississippi governor says maps won’t be redrawn before midterms

May 13 (UPI) — Tate Reeves, the governor of Mississippi, said Wednesday that he was canceling a special legislative session during which lawmakers were expected to redraw the state’s supreme court districts in accordance with the federal Voting Rights Act.

Reeves said, however, that he expects the state to redraw its congressional districts soon.

This comes after a flurry of court activity on multiple levels. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned an order from a U.S. district judge who found those districts violated the Voting Rights Act. The judge, Sharion Aycock, said the district lines should be redrawn to better ensure minority voters could elect candidates of their choice in accordance with the act, Mississippi Today reported.

However, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in late April weakened that part of the act, leading to the overturning of Aycock’s order. The judge could still rule that the court districts violate federal law and order them redrawn.

After that U.S. Supreme Court ruling, several Southern states have been taking up redistricting efforts to eliminate majority-Black congressional districts.

Reeves, in an appearance on a conservative talk radio network Wednesday, said it would be difficult for the state to redo its congressional districts in time for midterm elections in November and that doing so might hurt Republicans.

Mississippi’s primary elections for congressional seats were in March, before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Louisiana v Callais ruling, The Guardian reported. Redrawing the congressional map now could invalidate the primary elections.

Reeves posted on social media after the cancellation announcement, saying that he definitely wants the state to redraw the congressional map.

“Just to clarify, I said I expect lawmakers to redraw congressional lines BETWEEN NOW and 2027 elections!” he wrote. “I also expect them to redraw legislative and Supreme Court lines between now and 2027 elections!”

Reeves said he specifically wants to target Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson’s seat and that he is working with the Trump administration, The Guardian reported.

“The tenure of Congressman Bennie Thompson reigning terror on the 2nd Congressional District is over,” Reeves said, Mississippi Today reported. “It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when.”

Thompson is the state’s only congressional Democrat and the longest-serving Black elected official in the state and in Congress. He represents a district that is predominantly Black.