A federal lawsuit filed against the City of Natchez apparently aims to light a fire under city leaders to quickly redistrict the city’s aldermen wards prior to next year’s city elections.

Redistricting always seems to be an overly complicated, and often ugly, process.

For nearly 50 years, Mississippi had to obtain federal permission to make any changes to the elections process or voting districts.

This was a requirement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that was necessary at the time to break up the institutional racism that ruled Mississippi.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the formula that determined which jurisdictions required preclearance.

We applauded the decision as the world has changed significantly since the 1960s. When enacted blacks, in particular, could not fairly argue a discrimination case in the South.

Using the federal courts as a public cattle prod is costly and unnecessary. Natchez needs to redistrict its aldermen wards ahead of the 2016 elections. Period.

Unfortunately the previously required federal “clearance” is what caused much of the turmoil during the last election season.

Just prior to the 2012 municipal elections, much debate occurred over the city’s redistricting process.

Aldermen divided largely along racial lines, including one alderman who presented a redistricting plan of her own, which went against the plan the city paid to have constructed. In the end no new plan was approved by the Department of Justice prior to the election, thus the election was held using the old districts.

We would hope that Natchez’s residents could best decide how to run their own government without dragging the matter before an already taxed federal court system.

Rather than using the federal courts as a big stick, we urge the parties to work with city leaders to find a way to work together on redistricting.