Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann asked the state Board of Election Commissioners on Tuesday to file for a stay on a federal judge’s ruling that could lead to special elections for at least two seats on the Mississippi Supreme Court next year. 

Hosemann made the request in a letter to Gov. Tate Reeves, Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Secretary of State Michael Watson, fellow Republicans who comprise the election board. The request follows a Dec. 19 ruling by Mississippi Northern District federal Judge Sharion Aycock, which gave the Republican-controlled state Legislature until the end of its 2026 regular session to draw new Supreme Court district boundaries.

The ruling should be challenged, Hosemann said, because it could allow the federal court to redraw the boundaries to the court’s “liking,” an outcome that could favor candidates supported by Democrats. 

That’s what happened after a federal three-judge panel last year ordered lawmakers to redraw some legislative districts in three areas of the state to give Black voters a fairer shot at electing candidates of their choice. Not appealing that ruling sooner was a mistake Hosemann doesn’t want repeated, he suggested.

“Previously, this Board did not request a stay of a similar order to redistrict the Senate and the House districts, allowing the Senate and the House to effectively be redrawn by unconstitutional federal mandates on issues currently before the U.S. Supreme Court brought by other states,” Hosemann said in his letter. “But here we are again.”

Fitch’s office also appealed that ruling and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to sharply curtail the federal Voting Rights Act by declaring private voters cannot sue to prevent discrimination at the ballot box. 

If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Mississippi’s favor, it would mean only the Department of Justice could sue to enforce the Voting Rights Act. 

With respect to the the ongoing legal battle over the state Supreme Court, the matter stems from a 2022 lawsuit filed by a group of Black voters and candidates. The group in 2022 sued state officials, alleging that Black candidates face unfair difficulties getting elected to the state’s high court.

 In a 105-page ruling in August, Aycock, a President George W. Bush appointee, found that the three Supreme Court districts were drawn in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. Aycock asked the Legislature to redraw those districts in the future to give Black voters a fair shot at electing candidates of their choice.   

The plaintiffs had requested special elections for seats held by Justice Kenny Griffis and Justice Jenifer Branning. Griffis’s term ends in January 2030, while Branning’s runs through January 2033.

Last year, Branning, a white candidate who described herself as a “constitutional conservative” and was backed by the Republican Party, defeated longtime Justice Jim Kitchens, a white man widely viewed as a candidate supported by Black voters. 

No Black person has ever been elected to the Mississippi Supreme Court without first obtaining an interim appointment from the governor, and no Black person from either of the two other districts has ever served on the state’s high court. 

Hosemann said the federal court ruling could have far-reaching consequences for several elected offices beyond the state Supreme Court. 

“Even ignoring the facts of the ballot box and the inherent constitutional right for the Legislature to draw districts, this case goes even further,” Hosemann said. “It refused to restrict any potential special elections to the two Mississippi Supreme Court districts at issue in favor of ordering the Legislature to redistrict and then the federal court will review the Legislature’s efforts.”

The federal court under this tack could also compel special elections for the Public Service and Mississippi Department of Transportation commissions, Hosemann said.

Correction, 12/23/2025: This story has been corrected to show Hosemann issued his letter Tuesday.