The Justice Department has said a Mississippi Supreme Court ruling in 2005 that it was unconstitutional for David Myers to hold two elected offices at the same time does not violate the Voting Rights Act.

The Justice Department decision came in a letter on Monday to the city.

Myers was trying to hold onto his positions on the McComb city board and the Mississippi Legislature.

The Supreme Court ordered Myers to vacate his city board post. Myers has remained in both jobs under an injunction from a federal court.

The Supreme Court order upheld a ruling by a Pike County Circuit Court judge.

The next step, said Norman Gillis Jr., who represented the city in the case, is to file a copy of the Justice Department’s most recent letter with the federal court and ask the court to lift the injunction that has kept Myers on the city board.

The Justice Department’s letter specifically said that it won’t bar further court action to stop enforcement of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Myers has been on the city board since 1991 and in the Mississippi House since 1996. He was unopposed for his last re-election to both seats — the city board in 2006 and the Legislature last year.

Myers has claimed the city’s efforts to restrict him to one office is illegal.