Tennessee judges reject Republican-drawn Senate districts, uphold House maps

A Tennessee court has ruled that the state Senate maps are unconstitutional.

The court found that the state Senate maps violate the constitution because lawmakers incorrectly numbered the legislative districts. The districts must be numbered consecutively to ensure that the Senate terms are staggered. The state Senate has until the end of January 2024 to redraw the maps, although Republicans could appeal the decision.

However, the same court sided with the state on Tennessee’s House districts, which will remain as they are on the state’s current redistricting map.

Tennessee state law allows for up to 30 of the state’s 95 counties to be divided into separate voting districts. When lawmakers got together to draw the new districts for this decade members of the public were allowed to submit samples. Several made sure to stay well within the state law when it came to dividing up counties.

The Republican-super majority, however, went right up to the maximum number, a move that has drawn gerrymandering accusations from Democratic state lawmakers like Rep. John Ray Clemmons

“They divided up to 30 counties to strengthen their political power, not to comply with U.S. Constitution,” said Clemmons.

Clemmons said he expects his party to appeal. Democrats feel the map divides more counties than necessary and that it dilutes the power of minority voters.