In a surprising development, a panel of judges ruled Wednesday that a Republican-drawn map for Tennessee’s Senate seats is in violation of the state Constitution. The ruling came after the judges found that the lawmakers incorrectly numbered the legislative districts in left-leaning Nashville, which has an impact on which years those seats are on the ballot.
The maps in question were passed during the once-a-decade redistricting process, and Tennessee’s constitution specifies that districts must be numbered consecutively in counties that have more than one district. However, the newly drawn redistricting plan fails to do so in Davidson County, resulting in a numbering pattern of 17, 19, 20, and 21.
It is crucial because the four-year Senate terms are staggered, leading some districts to be on the ballot in presidential election years and others in gubernatorial election cycles. At present, those districts are represented by three Democrats and one Republican, despite the overall state Senate composition of 27 Republicans and 6 Democrats.
The state’s attorneys conceded that they would not defend the Senate map in court and instead focused on arguing that the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to sue. The court ultimately upheld the House map and ordered the Tennessee Senate to come up with a new district layout by January 31, 2024.
Senate Speaker Randy McNally, who previously defended the Senate map as legally sound, did not offer any immediate comment. Meanwhile, Democratic Senators Raumesh Akbari and London Lamar stated that the court ruling was a win for the Tennessee Constitution and vowed to advocate for a fair map and transparent process in the future.
On a separate note, Democrats expressed their discontent with the House map, alleging that it divides more counties than necessary and dilutes the power of minority voters. However, the court’s ruling left the House map intact, prompting the Tennessee Democratic Party to declare that their fight for a constitutional State House map was not over.
The judges remarked on the complexity of creating a constitutional map and acknowledged that a perfect map may never be achievable due to inherent conflicts. This comes after three voters filed a lawsuit, backed by the Tennessee Democratic Party, challenging the maps. The state argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, but the panel of judges allowed the case to proceed with one plaintiff eligible to challenge the House map, and another allowed to contest the Senate map.
Earlier in the year, the state Supreme Court overturned a decision to block the Senate map from taking effect, allowing the maps to stand amidst concerns of voter confusion and harm to election officials.
