Trending Now - Lawsuit Alleges Tennessee Gerrymandering Discriminates Against Black Voters
WHO:
Democracy Docket - Black voters and civil rights groups, represented by the ACLU, filed a lawsuit.
Alternet - Tennessee state representative Justin Jones, house speaker Cameron Sexton.
WHAT:
Democracy Docket - The lawsuit claims that Tennessee's gerrymander took the state's congressional map from 6-1 Republican to 7-0 Republican.
Democracy Docket - The complaint alleges that GOP lawmakers provided “bizarre, robotic answers” to questions about the map, leading to “almost comical dishonesty.”
Alternet - The new redistricting map has divided Nashville into five white-majority districts.
Democracy Docket - A lawsuit was filed in federal court alleging that Tennessee's congressional gerrymander unlawfully targeted Black voters.
Democracy Docket - The lawsuit claims the GOP-led redistricting cracked the city of Memphis into three districts, eliminating the state’s only Black-majority district.
Alternet - The new redistricting map eliminated Tennessee’s one remaining Democratic district around Memphis, which has a population of about 610,000, two-thirds of whom are Black.
Alternet - The map divided Nashville into five white-majority districts.
WHERE:
Democracy Docket - The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Tennessee.
Alternet - Memphis, Tennessee, a city with a population of about 610,000.
Alternet - Nashville, Tennessee.
WHEN:
Democracy Docket - The lawsuit was filed on a Monday.
Alternet - The redistricting map was enacted within 24 hours after a meeting of white Republican legislators.
WHY:
Democracy Docket - The plaintiffs allege that the actions of the all-White legislators who advanced the gerrymander were motivated by racial discrimination.
Democracy Docket - The lawsuit alleges that the redistricting was intended to discriminate against Black voters in violation of the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Alternet - The redistricting was prepared at Trump’s urging, and the actions of the legislators were described as creating an unfair and unequal process.
HOW:
Alternet - Tennessee Republicans prepared the redistricting map even before the Supreme Court announced its decision on the Voting Rights Act.
Democracy Docket - The GOP lawmakers allegedly provided “bizarre, robotic answers” to questions about the map and avoided acknowledging racial motivations.
Alternet - Republican legislators moved their meeting to another room without public access to pass the new map out of committee.
(UPDATED May 12, 2026 23:23 UTC)
A new lawsuit claims that Tennessee's recent gerrymandering has shifted the state's congressional map from a six-to-one Republican advantage to a seven-to-zero Republican advantage. The complaint alleges that GOP lawmakers provided bizarre and robotic answers to questions about the map, which the plaintiffs argue reflects almost comical dishonesty and is motivated by racial discrimination, particularly as the new redistricting has divided Nashville into five white-majority districts. Interestingly, Tennessee Republicans prepared this controversial redistricting map even before the Supreme Court announced its decision on the Voting Rights Act.
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(UPDATED May 12, 2026 19:34 UTC)
A lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Tennessee by Black voters and civil rights groups, represented by the ACLU, alleging that the state's congressional gerrymander unlawfully targeted Black voters. The lawsuit claims that the GOP-led redistricting cracked the city of Memphis into three districts, eliminating the only Black-majority district in the state, and divided Nashville into five white-majority districts. It is alleged that this redistricting was prepared at Trump's urging, with lawmakers providing evasive answers about the map while moving their meeting to a private room to pass it out of committee.