On Monday, August 10, the House Select Committee on Redistricting heard from Dr. Dallas Breen of the Stennis Institute of Government, who provided data and information about what federal law and the U.S. Constitution dictate regarding redrawing of judicial, congressional, and legislative districts:
- Districts must be as close to exact mathematical equality as possible to satisfy the one person, one vote mandate, intended to ensure that one person’s voting power is roughly equivalent to another’s within the same state
- Districts must be contiguous (all portions of the district must be physically connected)
- Care should be taken not to divide communities of interest
- Whenever possible, political boundaries should not be disrupted (cities, counties, precincts)
- Redistricting and apportionment must be based on decennial census population data, most recently gathered in 2020 (Mississippi had a poor census survey response rate in 2020, with only 58% of households responding)
We will keep you posted on further meetings related to redistricting and any opportunities for public comment or input. Together, we’ve got this!
