Tennessee’s Controversial Redistricting Plan Moves Forward
A federal judicial panel has recently given the green light to Tennessee’s contentious new congressional map, which divides a predominantly Black district in Memphis. This decision marks a significant legal win for Republicans aiming to secure an additional seat in the upcoming midterm elections.
Last Thursday, a three-judge panel declined to impose a preliminary injunction on the new districts, enabling their use in the August 6 primary elections. This move follows Tennessee’s revision of its congressional boundaries in May, shortly after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened protections under the Voting Rights Act for minority groups.
Former President Donald Trump has encouraged Republican-led states to redraw districts to their advantage in a bid to maintain a slim majority in the U.S. House during the November elections. Tennessee is one of eight GOP-dominated states to have undertaken such redistricting over the past year, with Trump hoping this strategy will help Republicans defy the historical trend of the president’s party losing seats in midterms.
In the courtroom, opponents of Tennessee’s newly drawn congressional districts argued that the Republican lawmakers responsible for the plan were partially motivated by racial discrimination, which would violate the U.S. Constitution. However, Republicans maintained that their actions were solely driven by partisan objectives, aiming to capture the sole Democratic-held seat among the state’s nine districts. According to a 2019 Supreme Court decision, legislatures are permitted to create partisan districts.
The federal judges involved, including two appointed by Trump and one by former President Barack Obama, stated in their opinion that the lawsuit is unlikely to succeed, as the plaintiffs “lack any direct evidence of racial motivation.” Their ruling noted, “The road to a reliably 9-0 map runs through Memphis. Thus, political motivations readily explain the map’s dilutive effects.”
The Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana as an illegal racial gerrymander has similarly weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This has given Republicans in several Southern states the opportunity to cite political reasons when modifying voting districts with substantial minority populations that have historically elected Democrats.
In Tennessee, Republicans altered a Memphis-based district with a majority-Black population, which had been represented for nearly 20 years by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, a white lawmaker. The revised district now spans several hundred miles eastward, eventually reaching north toward Nashville’s suburbs.
Following the redistricting, Rep. Cohen announced he would be ending his bid for reelection.
Amber Sherman, a Memphis voter and plaintiff in the lawsuit, voiced her disappointment with the ruling, describing it as “painful” to face an election under a map that diminishes Black voters’ influence. “We deserve the same opportunity to shape our future as anyone else,” Sherman stated. “When our voting power is diluted, our neighborhoods have a harder time making their voices heard on the issues that shape our daily lives.”
Attorney Ari Savitzky from the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project argued in mid-June that the Republicans, who comprise “essentially an all-white-controlled legislative body,” deliberately dismantled the state’s sole enclave of Black political power in federal elections.
Conversely, Taylor Meehan, representing Tennessee election officials, refuted the claims of racial discrimination. She also pointed out the impracticality of switching back to the previous congressional configurations, as primary ballots had already been finalized with the new lines. Meehan asserted, “Racial data was turned off” during the redistricting process. “The map was drafted for politics.”
