TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Aug 23, 2024

A lawsuit alleging that Tennessee's redistricting plans for the U.S. House of Representatives and state Senate amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering has been dismissed by a federal judicial panel, according to WBIR News. While the panel ruled that the new maps are "consistent with a racial gerrymander,” it also found they are "consistent with a political gerrymander.” The judges found that the plaintiffs would need to provide stronger evidence that Tennessee's legislators knew the redistricting maps would harm Democratic voters, including minority voters. The court gave the plaintiffs 30 days to refile the case if they could provide stronger evidence of racial motivations. The complaint, filed in August 2023, alleged that the 2022 redistricting maps intentionally discriminated against Black voters and diluted the voting power of communities of color.