Tennessee Congressional Redistricting Challenge (NAACP II)

A pro-voting lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new congressional map for intentionally diluting Black voting power and dismantling the state’s only majority-Black district following the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act.

Background

A coalition of civil rights organizations and voters — including the NAACP Tennessee State Conference and the League of Women Voters of Tennessee — filed a federal lawsuit against state election officials challenging Tennessee’s newly enacted congressional map.

The plaintiffs argue that the map, passed during a rushed special legislative session, intentionally dismantles Congressional District 9, the state’s only majority-Black district, by splitting Memphis into multiple districts and weakening Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of their choice.

They claim the map violates the U.S. Constitution by discriminating on the basis of race and diluting Black voting power.

Why It Matters

This case is one of the first major federal challenges to a congressional map enacted after the Supreme Court’s Callais decision severely weakened the Voting Rights Act. Tennessee lawmakers moved quickly to redraw districts in a way that eliminates a long-standing majority-Black district, a move advocates say would have been much harder to defend under prior law.

The outcome could shape how far states can go in redrawing maps that reduce minority representation — and whether federal courts will continue to serve as a backstop against racially discriminatory maps.

Latest Updates

• May 27, 2026: A three-judge panel has been assigned.
• May 18, 2026: The court granted defendants’ motion and consolidated the case with Hale and Sherman.
• May 15, 2026: Defendants filed an unopposed motion to reassign the case.
• May 13, 2026: Plaintiffs filed their complaint.