U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock on Tuesday ruled that Mississippi’s state Supreme Court districts dilute Black voting rights and that the state cannot use the same maps in future elections.

In a sweeping 105-page ruling, 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.

Out of the 100-plus justices who have served on the Mississippi Supreme Court, only four have been Black.

Mississippi law establishes three distinct Supreme Court districts, commonly referred to as the Northern, Central and Southern districts. Voters elect three judges from each of

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