Lawsuit Dismissed on Tennessee Gerrymandering

— A federal judicial panel has dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Tennessee's U.S. House and state Senate maps constitute unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. The ruling, issued on Wednesday, acknowledged that while the allegations align with a racial gerrymander, they also suggest a political gerrymander. This lawsuit was the first challenge to the 2022 congressional redistricting, which critics argue was designed to weaken the influence of Black voters in Nashville, a Democratic stronghold. The three-judge panel pointed to "naked partisanship" as a significant motivation behind the Republican supermajority in the state legislature. The plaintiffs included various organizations, such as the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP and the League of Women Voters, alongside individual voters, including former Democratic state Senator Brenda Gilmore. The ruling noted that Republican candidates won their elections by substantial margins, further indicating the political motivations behind the redistricting. The judges dismissed the argument from Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti that the plaintiffs had delayed their challenge and clarified that the plaintiffs were not required to propose an alternative map. They allowed for the possibility of refiling the complaint within 30 days, provided it could separate racial issues from political ones. In response to the ruling, Republican leaders expressed satisfaction, emphasizing the need to move forward. The court's decision also touched on broader allegations of racial discrimination within the Republican-controlled Statehouse, although it stated these issues were largely unrelated to the redistricting case. Meanwhile, Tennessee's legislative maps are still subject to another lawsuit based on state constitutional grounds.