At President Donald Trump’s request, Tennessee’s Republican supermajority is scheduled to return to Nashville next week to redraw the state’s legislative map, splitting Memphis into several safe Republican seats.
The session was made possible by the Supreme Court’s April 29 decision ending protections under the Voting Rights Act.
Governor Bill Lee called for a special legislative session to approve the new zoning map on the night of May 1, a day after President Trump announced on social media that Governor Lee had committed to doing so.
Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Nashville on the 5th.
“We owe it to the people of Tennessee to ensure that Tennessee’s electoral districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” Lee said. “We believe the General Assembly, in consultation with the Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, has a responsibility to review the maps and ensure they are fair, legal, and defensible.”
If it reaches Nashville, the Republican supermajority will defeat Memphis, pick up nine new safe Republican seats in Tennessee, and have the votes to eliminate the last remaining Democratic-held seat.
Candidates are already campaigning in the 9th Congressional District, but the district will likely be redrawn during the special session. Incumbent Representative Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) and State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) have both collected and submitted qualifying signatures and are actively campaigning.
Redrawing the map would halt those campaigns and require candidates in all congressional districts to collect new signatures to requalify their races.
“Donald Trump wants additional seats, and he wants to get them by dictating how districts are drawn and saying they shouldn’t be drawn the way they are. Draw the districts the way you want to get votes for him,” Cohen said on May 1.
“Civil rights are being attacked through this Supreme Court case, which potentially deprives African-Americans and African-Americans of a significant half of their elected representatives in the United States Congress,” Cohen said, vowing to launch a legal battle.
Lee’s call came hours after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called a special legislative session to redraw Alabama’s maps. That comes as Republican-controlled southern states have begun to politicize the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back protections for black voters in the Voting Rights Act.
