Why are Tate residents west of I-55 going to the polls on Aug 5, 2025? We can thank a panel of three Federal Judges. It’s called a “Special Election.”
Here is the timeline of events that requires some of us to cast our ballots on August 5th.
In 1965 the National Voting Rights Act was passed into law. Section 2 of that law prohibits discrimination against minority groups.
In 2022 the NAACP and private citizens filed suit in Mississippi alleging that the state’s legislative districts drawn after the 2020 census violated that law.
A federal three-judge panel agreed with this finding in 2024 and ordered the Legislature to propose a new map creating new Black majority districts.
After multiple failures to reach a consensus, legislators finally came up with a map that got the court’s approval.
Since every Senate District need about 59000 voters and since the new alignment created one majority black voting district in Desoto County (Senate District 2) two of the other three districts had to be realigned. So the question was how do we keep 59000 voters in the other districts?
Their solution was to come to Tate County to equalize the population of Senate District 1 and District 11.
So all of the voting precincts west of Senatobia and Coldwater have been impacted.
Our county will now have three state Senators representing it in Jackson.
The federal judges who approved this realignment have the power to call for a special election and they did, disregarding the fact that the two senators in these realigned districts have two more years to go on their current terms.
So our current Senator from District 11 Reginald Jackson, a democrat and Michael McLendon, a conservative Republican, who is our current Senator from District 1, have had the balance of their four year term stripped from them by three federal judges and they are having to run for re-election.
You and I just happen to be caught in the aftermath of these actions.
So on August 5th we have been given the opportunity to send the incumbent Senators back to Jackson or to elect their opponents in what will be both the most important election of the year and probably the election with the lowest voter turnout.
Those of us who vote on August 5th to send the most qualified and conservative Senators back to Jackson will in part determine the future of Tate County.
If you are in the affected precincts PLEASE MAKE PLANS TO VOTE.
Here is a list of the affected precincts. Senate District 11: Strayhorn 1, Evansville, and Sherrod. Senate District 1: Arkabutla, Taylor, Strayhorn 2, and Sherrod. Sherrod is split between the two districts.
SEE YOU AT THE POLLS ON AUGUST 5, 2025.
John Eubanks,
Sarah, Miss.,
