Judge rejects challenge to block new GOP-favored House map in Tennessee
Key takeaways
- The voters argued in their filing that the new congressional map passed by Tennessee Republicans, which dismantles Rep.
- Relief is needed now before the maps are locked in and Black voters are irrevocably forced to use an illegal, discriminatory map to elect representation in Congress for the next two years, they added.
- Campbell was also doubtful about voters arguments that Republicans redistricted the majority-Black House district to retaliate against Black voters.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
U.S. Chief District Judge William Campbell Jr. denied a request from several Black Memphis voters and organizations, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Tennessee, to temporarily halt the use of a new GOP-favored House map in the Volunteer State until a three-judge panel could weigh the merits of their case.
The voters argued in their filing that the new congressional map passed by Tennessee Republicans, which dismantles Rep. Steve Cohen s (D-Tenn.) majority-Black district and creates a 9-0 GOP-favored House map, was racially discriminatory and was instituted in the midst of candidate filing deadlines before an upcoming August primary.
The ad hoc candidate qualification deadlines set by the General Assembly during the special session are imminently approaching, and in prior years Tennessee election officials have warned that they would be unable to alter congressional maps even earlier in the election calendar without compromising the election, the voters argued in their filing.