DESOTO COUNTY — Several DeSoto County residents have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the creation of majority-Black subdistricts for the Mississippi state judiciary. The lawsuit, filed in 2026, alleges that the Mississippi Legislature's actions violate the Voting Rights Act.

The plaintiffs include Robert Foster, a DeSoto County Supervisor and former Republican gubernatorial candidate. The lawsuit contends that when the Legislature redrew state court districts, it assigned an additional judge for Circuit Court and Chancery Court to DeSoto County, requiring those judges to be elected from a majority-Black subdistrict.

"Racially motivated and mathematically problematic, H.B. 1544 and S.B. 2768 are doubly unconstitutional and violate federal law as they treat similarly situated citizens unequally and deny 3 out of 4 DeSoto Countians the right to vote based on race," the lawsuit reads. The filing targets the three-member State Board of Election Commissioners, which consists of Gov. Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Michael Watson, and Attorney General Lynn Fitch.

State Sen. Mike McLendon, a Republican from Hernando, issued a statement supporting the lawsuit. "DeSoto County was singled out," McLendon said. "This is bad legislation that was designed to deny you the opportunity to vote for judges who will exercise authority over every person in this county."

In 2025, legislative leaders redrew court districts to address population shifts and caseload data. This process allowed for majority-Black subdistricts in certain areas, intended to provide Black voters an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. A subdistrict permits a judge to be elected from a smaller area within the main district, while still maintaining the authority to hear cases from anywhere in the district.

The DeSoto County lawsuit was initially assigned to U.S. District Judge Mike Mills, who subsequently recused himself. It is currently before U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock. The plaintiffs have asked Judge Aycock to block the DeSoto County map from going into effect. A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for July 22, 2026.

Judge Aycock previously ruled that Mississippi's state Supreme Court districts violated the federal Voting Rights Act by not providing Black voters a chance to elect a candidate of their choice. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision. Judicial elections in Mississippi are scheduled to take place in November 2026.