A federal judge has ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court election map after finding it weakens the voting power of Black residents. Doing so is in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled Tuesday in Greenville that the map, which has been used since 1987, illegally disadvantages Black voters. The case was brought by a group of Black Mississippians who argued the map perpetuates racial discrimination.

Currently, the state’s nine justices are chosen in nonpartisan races from three districts to serve staggered eight-year terms. The boundaries—largely unchanged in more than a century—are drawn by the legislature. While Black residents make up roughly 40% of Mississippi’s population, only four Black justices have ever served on the state’s highest court, all from the same district that includes Jackson and part of the Delta. Each was first appointed by a governor before running, and none served simultaneously. Today, Presiding Justice Leslie King is the only Black justice on the court.

“In short, the evidence illustrates that Black candidates who desire to run for the Mississippi Supreme Court face a grim likelihood of success,” Aycock wrote in her ruling.

The state, led by Republican officials, defended the map by noting that District 1 already has a majority Black voting-age population (51.1%). But Aycock rejected that argument, pointing out that the figure doesn’t account for the lifetime voting bans imposed on certain felony convictions—restrictions that disproportionately affect Black residents.

Aycock also emphasized Mississippi’s long record of disenfranchising Black voters, stretching from Reconstruction through the civil rights era. “The evidence reveals a history of voting-related discrimination in Mississippi and the utilization of voting practices and procedures that continue to enhance the opportunity to discriminate against or suppress the votes of Black Mississippians,” she wrote.

Appointed by former President George W. Bush, Aycock blocked further use of the map and instructed the legislature to create new districts. She will hold a future hearing to set deadlines for the redrawing process.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Lynn Fitch, whose office defended the map, said officials are reviewing the ruling.