The Tennessee House changed state law to adopt a new congressional gerrymander

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https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/tennessee-republicans-gerrymander-majority-black-district-memphis/

The GOP-held Tennessee House Thursday changed state law to adopt a new congressional map that dilutes the state’s only Black-majority district and breaks up its lone Democratic seat.

Tennessee Republicans’ aggressive gerrymander is the first directly in response to last week’s Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act. The decision ignited several GOP redistricting efforts aimed at eliminating electoral districts drawn to protect the voting power of racial minorities across the country.

To pass the new map, Tennessee Republicans first repealed a state law that had barred lawmakers from redistricting between censuses for around five decades. They also changed legislative rules to limit public comment to expedite the passage of the repeal and the new map.

The Tennessee Senate, which passed the repeal, is expected to take up the map later Thursday.

The new map splits Memphis, a majority-Black city that made up most of the state’s 9th Congressional District, between three districts. It also further fractures Nashville, another Democratic stronghold in the state.