NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT / WSMV) – Governor Bill Lee has called a special legislative session for the Tennessee General Assembly to review the state’s congressional map.
This comes after calls from President Donald Trump and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn to hold the session in order to “correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee.”
“We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” Lee said.
“After consultation with the Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, I believe the General Assembly has a responsibility to review the map and ensure it remains fair, legal, and defensible.”
The governor’s office added that in order to comply with election timelines and to ensure Tennesseans have “reflective representation” any change to the state’s congressional map “must be enacted as soon as possible.”
For decades, states have been allowed and were sometimes even required to use race-based data to draw their congressional maps. That ruling was set in 1965 to protect representation for minority voters — and it’s what kept Memphis as a blue congressional district as every other in the state turned red.
The special session is slated to begin on Tuesday, May 5.
The Tennessee Black Caucus said over the weekend that the decision to host a special session to redraw the maps is meant to “target and potentially dismantle the state’s only Black-majority district centered in Memphis.”
“Let us be clear: This is not about fairness,” the caucus said. “It is about power.”
House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) shared this statement about the call for a special session:
“It’s now official. Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Republicans have formally declared their willingness to light the Voting Rights Act on fire, along with the foundational principles, of our democratic process. By again bending the knee to a corrupt, lame duck president desperate for help, our weak-kneed governor is abusing his power to try and rig elections and silence the voice of Tennesseans.
It’s imperative for Gov. Lee to formally declare the late Representative G. A. Hardaway’s seat vacant so that a replacement can be appointed before the upcoming special session.”
State Democrats gathered in Memphis on Friday to push against the redrawing of the districts.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn) said that “Civil Rights are under attack.”
Cohen added that this is all about Trump wanting to avoid oversight and questions regarding his actions, pardons, ICE and other issues that he doesn’t want made public.
State Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis): “This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of democracy. This is an issue of history. This is an issue of legacy.”
Akbari described the recent Supreme Court decision as “unconscionable,” and that “[We] cannot keep doing this and calling it democracy.”
Background on SCOTUS ruling:
The Associated Press reports that this ruling found that the Louisiana district at the center of the case, represented by Democrat Cleo Fields, relied too heavily on race. Chief Justice John Roberts had described the district as a “snake” that stretches more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) to link parts of the Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette and Baton Rouge areas.
Fields’ win in 2024 marked the first time in a decade that Democrats held two congressional seats in the state.
“That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the six conservatives.
