The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 12, 2023
Today’s Script
(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
Just a week after a lower court upheld state House maps and ordered new state Senate voting district maps, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled – for the second time – that it would temporarily keep both partisan gerrymandered maps in place.
In 2022, the GOP-dominated Tennessee legislature split and renumbered Davidson County voting districts in order to help protect its super-majority in the state House and Senate. Elections for even-numbered state senate districts are held in higher turnout Presidential elections, while odd-number districts are during the lower- turnout gubernatorial midterm elections. The legislature intentionally gave three out of four districts odd numbers in the heavily African American county, in violation of the constitution.
In 2022, a lower court threw out the map, but was blocked by the Tennessee Supreme Court, saying it was too close to the election. After the election, a lower court threw out the Senate map again, and again, December 8th, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled to keep the gerrymandered maps in place for now.
Tennessee’s Congressional map is also being challenged. Civil rights groups filed in federal court that breaking Davidson County into three congressional districts, and splitting Shelby County’s State Senate District 31, violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voting power. A date for that trial has not been set.
We have links to analysis of these cases at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Democracy Docket – Tennessee Legislative Redistricting State Challenge
American Redistricting Project – Wygant v. Lee
Democracy Docket – Court Orders New Tennessee State Senate Map, Upholds State House Map
Tennessee Lookout – Senate and House redistricting rulings challenged at Supreme Court level
ABC News – Tennessee Supreme Court blocks decision to redraw state’s Senate redistricting maps
The Tennessean – Tennessee sued over ‘racial gerrymandering’ in redistricting maps
Democracy Docket – Tennessee Congressional and State Senate Redistricting Challenge
Groups Taking Action:
League of Women Voters TN, Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, Equity Alliance, African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee, Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute
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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #EndGerrymandering #FairMaps #PartisanGerrymandering #RacialGerrymandering