by Jon Styf | Tennessee Star
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Friday it won’t expedite an appeal of a ruling against Tennessee’s Republican-drawn State Senate maps, meaning the current maps will likely remain in place for the 2024 elections.
The maps were ruled unconstitutional by a Tennessee court November 22.
“Tennessee’s constitution dictates that districts must be numbered consecutively in counties that have more than one district,” Fox News reported the next day; adding “The newly drawn redistricting plan does not do that in Davidson County, which encompasses Nashville. Instead, it’s numbered 17, 19, 20 and 21.”
The news outlet noted that the district numbers are connected to elections cycles, since the state senators’ four-year terms are staggered.
“Today’s court ruling against the gerrymandered state Senate map is a clear win for the Tennessee Constitution. Even when a political party has a supermajority in the Legislature, its members must still follow the law,” Senate Minority Leader Sen. Raumesh Akbari and Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Sen. London Lamar said in a joint statement following the decision. “In the days ahead, Senate Democrats will once again be advocating for a fair map and transparent process that keeps communities whole and reflects who we are as a state.”
“The state and the trial court agree the senate map violates the constitution,” Tennessee Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, wrote on social media. “No question. But the Supreme Court just denied requests to expedite appeal and stayed the injunction that required a new map by January 31. So, current maps apply in 2024.”
In August, several Tennessee groups filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s congressional and state redistricting maps that went into effect in 2022.
The ruling the maps are unconstitutional originally set a January 31 deadline to adopt a plan that follows the constitutional requirement that Senate districts be consecutively numbered.
Jon Styf is a staff reporter at The Center Square.
Photo “Tennessee State Capitol” by Thomas R Machnitzki. CC BY 3.0.
