JACKSON – Mississippi lawmakers on Thursday ended their 2011 session without finishing the job of redistricting.
It”s unclear what happens now. Federal judges could draw new legislative districts. Or, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour could call lawmakers back to do the job. Or, candidates could run in the outdated legislative districts this year and a new group of lawmakers could draw new maps in 2012.
The 122 state House districts and 52 Senate districts have to be updated to reflect population changes revealed by the 2010 Census.
Redistricting hit a road block last month after the Senate rejected the House”s first map.
The Mississippi NAACP filed a lawsuit last month that seeks to block elections in the current districts because some districts have many more residents than others.
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