NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WKRN) — Lawmakers from Tennessee will gather at the State Capitol on Tuesday for a special legislative session, aiming to possibly alter the state’s congressional boundaries just months before the primary elections.
Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) announced a special session on Friday following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that restricted the use of race in redistricting under the Voting Rights Act.
Numerous aspects of the meeting remain uncertain, including the possible appearance of the new map.
The issue with the congressional maps is that it has to be based on individuals,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) stated. “One district will likely have one more person than the others, and that’s what makes it complicated: ensuring that each congressional district has the same number of people. That’s why you’ll see some small lines running down streets and such to make sure we get those numbers accurate.
The Republican party’s ultimate objective is to divide Congressional District 9 in Memphis, aiming to make it a Republican-leaning area, thereby endangering the Democrats’ remaining congressional seat.
There is one district remaining in Tennessee that is a majority-minority. That is the Ninth Congressional District, and according to this Supreme Court ruling, it might no longer exist,” said Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis). “It could be entirely manipulated through gerrymandering, which would significantly reduce minority representation in the city.
Although some claim that redrawing the maps is against the law, John Geer, a Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll, stated to News 2 that the timing of the map redrawal is expected to face legal challenges, as the primary elections are only a few months away.
“The deadline for candidates to file has already expired; campaigns for the August primaries are in progress. It appears to me that it would be a challenging task to apply for this year,” Geer said.
Speaker Sexton said to News 2 that if the maps are revised and pass through the “challenge system,” there will still be ample time before August, allowing people the opportunity to run in the new districts.
“And fortunately, no one has actually spent any money on television yet in these congressional races, so if the district boundaries are changed, it will still be a fresh competition,” Sexton said.
Nevertheless, certain Republicans have different worries.In a blog entry on her site, Rep. Michele Reneau (R-Signal Mountain) raised concerns about the fairness of the map redraw.
“As John Adams stated, ‘The foundation of our freedoms lies in the freedom of elections.’ Any action that seems to fix results threatens this principle,” she wrote.
Furthermore, she inquired whether Republicans would consider redrawing congressional boundaries appropriate if the party roles were switched. “It’s a question worth considering,” she added in her post.
Speaker Sexton stated that Democrats have been altering district boundaries.
Democrats are doing this. They’re just not doing it in Tennessee,” Speaker Sexton stated. “They’re doing it in Massachusetts. They’re doing it in California. They’re doing it in other states, like Virginia, so they are doing it, and since they are doing it, then we owe it to ourselves to go in and do the same thing.
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However, political scientists caution that the new maps might result in less competitive districts, which would not serve the interests of Tennessee residents.
I believe the real issue here isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans; it’s that the political system benefits from having competition,” Geer stated. “What I mean is that neither party has a monopoly on the best ideas. Competition is necessary, and the public needs to have choices. One outcome of all these redistricting efforts nationwide is that we will end up with fewer competitive districts, which is bad for the system. And it’s also bad for Tennessee.
Just examine the economics,” Geer added. “If a company holds a monopoly, it often lacks efficiency and effectiveness in serving the public’s needs, which is why we require this, and that’s what we’re losing throughout the entire country.
The exclusive meeting is anticipated to take place over three to four days, as stated by Sexton.
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