Tennessee gerrymander ‘unlawfully targeted Black voters,’ new lawsuit claims

Key Points:

• Black voters and civil rights groups, represented by the ACLU, filed a federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s GOP-led congressional redistricting, alleging it intentionally discriminates against Black voters by dismantling the state’s only Black-majority district in Memphis.
• The lawsuit claims the redistricting violates the 14th and 15th Amendments by cracking Memphis into three districts to dilute Black voting power, effectively eliminating Black representation in Tennessee’s congressional delegation.
• Despite the Supreme Court’s recent weakening of the Voting Rights Act, the plaintiffs argue that intentional racial discrimination in voting remains unconstitutional and that the redistricting was motivated by racial bias.
• The complaint criticizes GOP lawmakers for evading accountability, highlighting their refusal to disclose who drew the map and their denial of Memphis’s Black majority, which the lawsuit describes as dishonest and evasive.
• The redistricting shifted Tennessee’s congressional delegation from 6-1 Republican to a completely 7-0 Republican delegation, following pressure from former President Donald Trump on Governor Bill Lee.