Judges Reject Lawsuit Accusing Tennessee Of Racial Discrimination In Political Map Redistricting

The judges said the lawsuit could be refiled.

A Tennessee panel of judges dismissed a lawsuit alleging that the Tennessee Republican Party engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering by redistricting an electoral map, but also argued that the facts of the case are consistent with a politically motivated gerrymander.

According to The Associated Press, in their Aug. 21 ruling, the three judge panel wrote, “In sum, the complaint alleges facts that are consistent with a racial gerrymander. But the facts are also consistent with a political gerrymander.”

The plaintiffs argued that the 2022 congressional maps erased the political power of the Black voters and other communities of color in one of Tennessee’s few Black strongholds. In addition to those maps, they also challenged Tennessee Senate District 31 maps on similar grounds. The lawsuit also argued that the white voting age population went up as a Republican took office in that district.

Plaintiffs in this case included the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, the African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee, the Equity Alliance, the League of Women Voters, and a group of Tennessee voters that includes former Democratic State Sen. Brenda Gilmore.

In a bit of good news for the plaintiffs, despite the judges ruling against their argument, they did reject Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s argument that the plaintiffs waited too long to pursue their case and said they did not have to create their own map to challenge the district. The judges said they could refile in the next 30 days, but they would have to “plausibly disentangle race from politics.”

Republicans like Tennessee’s House Speaker Cameron Sexton signaled their approval as his office released a statement claiming that they were “happy to have resolution on this matter so that we can focus on what’s ahead for Tennessee.”

However, Tennessee’s state legislative maps still face another lawsuit on the grounds that they constitute a violation of Tennessee’s state constitution.