However, that could have all changed after a panel of three judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday afternoon directed the Legislature to redraw Senate District 22, which measures 102 miles long. This was a decision that contradicts a lower court’s ruling that it was incorrectly drawn to dilute black voter strength. Now the question is: What happens next? Hopson’s current district, which is located in Warren County, is likely to be moved eastward in order to attract additional white voters from Madison County. Hopson could be able to win an opponent if the court sets an April 12 deadline for qualified candidates. March 1 was the qualifying deadline. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is the Senate’s President. He said that no final decision has been made about how to handle the judicial order. He said Tuesday that he was in contact with senators. “Any time you affect one district it has the potential to affect all 51 other districts.” Speaker Philip Gunn suggested that a special session might be necessary at this point in order to redraw the districts. He said that if that happened, “I would assume the Senate, as they are the ones being affected, would come up with a plan before the governor would call for a special session.” Delbert Hosemann Secretary of State, who oversees state election, said that he hoped he would meet with Gov. Phil Bryant and other legislative leaders will discuss whether they intend to appeal the decision. Rep. Ed Blackmon (D-Canton), who was involved in redistricting lawsuits that led to greater representation of African Americans in the Legislature, stated that the court decision was crucial and he didn’t believe it would be overturned. He stated that he believes the district will be redrawn by either the courts or the Legislature. Redistricting will be happening soon after the November elections – just before the 2023 election. Blackmon stated that the ruling was significant because he believes the new plan (after Census) will favor incumbents. There is also a possibility that the new incumbent could be African American. Blackmon stated that the ruling could establish a baseline for the Senate’s number of predominantly African American districts. It would be difficult for legislators lower this number. Based on the U.S. Census population changes, the Legislature must redraw its legislative districts every ten years. The ruling is also important because it states that “just because Section 5 of our voting rights act has been overturned by the Supreme Court does not mean that district lines can be drawn in such a way as to discriminate against some people.” Section 5 of our Voting Rights Act required Mississippi’s approval from the U.S. Department of Justice for any election changes. This included the redrawing of legislative areas to ensure that the changes are not discriminatory against minorities. The U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional Section 5’s use to supervise election changes in states like Mississippi, which had a history voter discrimination. Blackmon said that just because the state did not have to get approval from the Justice Department, does not mean that election changes are no longer subject to scrutiny by the federal courts. Blackmon stated that the problem is that African Americans are “packed in” supermajority districts, which leaves districts where white Republicans and white Republicans only need to worry about winning the primary, while the few African American voters in those districts are ignored. He said that districts that are “packed into” will be the fight next year. District 22 runs from Bolivar County, in the middle Delta to Madison County. Madison County is a Jackson suburb. The current incumbent, Sen. Buck Clarke (R-Hollandale), is not running for re-election but is instead running statewide as treasurer. Clarke was elected the district’s treasurer with 53 percent of the vote. Under its current structure, District 22 was a crowded field. These are Hayes Dent, Dwayne self, and Vince “Biggs’ Roberts, Colton Thornton and Ruffin Smith on the Republican side. Earl Scales is on the Democratic side. It remains to be seen whether they will continue and run for District 22 if the district is redrawn according to the court’s order. Currently, there are 13 African American senators and 14 majority-black districts in the 52-member Senate. Rob McDuff, a civil rights attorney and the Mississippi Center for Justice filed the lawsuit last summer on behalf of a group voters living in the Delta section of the district._x000D