State lawmakers push for protections as Supreme Court considers dismantling Voting Rights Act
As the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a case that could further weaken the federal Voting Rights Act, some Mississippi lawmakers are moving to write their own version.
State lawmakers in the the Legislative Black Caucus on Martin Luther King Jr. Day filed legislation to create a state-level version of the Voting Rights Act. They said their act is designed to safeguard minority voting rights, as the nation’s highest court has indicated it’s open to revisit provisions of the Civil Rights era federal law and has already overturned some.
The state legislation would prohibit dilution of minority voters, create a Mississippi Voting Rights Commission and require some jurisdictions to obtain preclearance approval from the newly created commission.
Rep. Zakiya Summers, a Democrat from Jackson and author of the legislation, said at a press conference in front of the state Capitol on Monday that the bill is not about one party or one race, but about protecting the voting rights of future generations.
https://mississippitoday.org/2026/01/19/state-lawmakers-push-for-protections-as-supreme-court-considers-dismantling-voting-rights-act/
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