NATCHEZ — It would take a lawsuit — with a courtroom win — to change the outcome of the May 1 Natchez primary election, which was held on old district lines.

Though no one is ready to say they’ll sue over an election held before the city received approval for its new redistricting plans — approval that didn’t come — the precedent is certainly there.

The Mississippi state legislature did not complete new redistricting maps before the 2011 elections. In response to the failure to complete a redistricting plan before the election, the Mississippi NAACP filed a state lawsuit and then a federal lawsuit.

The Natchez chapter of the NAACP has not yet finalized its next steps in Natchez, said the Rev. Clifton Marvel, vice president of the chapter.

“We have talked about some plans, but we don’t want to divulge anything until we make final plans,” Marvel. “We’re working in conjunction with the state NAACP to give us some direction, and we’re planning a meeting with state representatives soon.”

The plan

Regardless of whether suit is filed or not, the City of Natchez must get approval for a redistricting plan.

The city submitted its proposed plan in December, despite protests from three aldermen and the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Redrawing ward lines was required after the 2010 Census data showed the city’s population had shifted.

An alternate NAACP plan was also submitted.

On Election Day, the city received word that the U.S. Department of Justice had rejected its proposed plan.

In a letter to the city dated April 30, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas E. Perez says the city’s explanation for proposed changes in wards was unjustified.

The city’s current redistricting plan and the proposed plan reflect three majority black wards and three majority white wards.

Opponents to the city’s plan said the proposed plan did not account for population shifts reflected in the census. Ward 5, they argued, should have a higher concentration of black residents.

During the redistricting process, the city’s redistricting consultant, Bill Rigby of Holland & Rigby, contended that black population had to be moved from Ward 5 in order to maintain the black population percentages in Ward 1, 2 and 4 to avoid “retrogression.”

Retrogression essentially means that the number of minority opportunity districts cannot decrease during redistricting, according to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

According to Perez’s letter, Rigby’s contention is a misapplication of the law’s retrogression standard, which does not operate as a clear-cut prohibition on any reduction in the black population percentage in a ward that has the ability to elect its candidate of choice.

Perez said it is not reasonable to contend that adding black population to the three existing minority wards — especially Ward 2, which has a 97.5-percent black voting age population — was necessary to avoid retrogression.

Perez said the city was presented with alternatives that maintained black majorities in three wards and increased the black majority in Ward 5.

The city’s options

According to the letter, the city has the right to seek a declaratory judgment from the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., that the proposed redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory purpose and will not deny a resident his or her right to vote based on race.

The city can also request that the U.S. Attorney General reconsider the Department of Justice’s objection to the proposed redistricting plan.

Department of Justice Spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle declined to comment Friday on the city’s redistricting options or what options residents have to dispute the recent Democratic primary election.

But several Natchez aldermen said the board won’t make a move until after the current election cycle is over and the new administration has taken office — July 1.

Ward 2 Alderman James “Rickey” Gray and Ward 5 Alderman Mark Fortenbery said they are not concerned about losing a lawsuit that could challenge the recent election results.

Gray said he believes he understands the redistricting process, which is why he said he opposed the city’s redistricting plan in the first place. He said he thinks the process will go a lot smoother and be more productive if all of the aldermen educate themselves on the process.

“That could be a problem now, because we’re going to have to go back to the drawing table with a new board and maybe new aldermen that don’t know the redistricting process,” Gray said.

Gray said he also thinks the city should hire another redistricting consultant since, he said, the ward lines drawn by Rigby have come under question by the Department of Justice during the city’s last two redistricting processes.

Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, who was involved in the NAACP plan, declined to comment Friday without first seeking legal counsel on what she thinks the city’s next move should be for redistricting.

Natchez City Attorney Everett Sanders also declined to comment on the city’s options for the next step in the redistricting process.

Legal options

In late March, when the city decided to proceed with the May 1 primary elections, it did so based on a recommendation of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.

AG Public Information Officer Jan Schaefer said in an email that there is no way for the attorney general to know if the elections will stand.

“Any challenge would have to come through the courts,” she said. “The question about whether they will have to run again under the new lines is before the federal courts right now regarding legislative and county elections.”