Federal court denies motion to halt Tennessee reapportionment

(The Center Square) – The American Civil Liberties Union said it will continue to challenge Tennessee’s new congressional district lines after a federal three-judge panel denied a request for an injunction.

The organization represents three Memphis voters and others seeking to overturn a General Assembly decision that redrew the state’s congressional districts.

The new district lines split Memphis and Shelby County, the state’s only majority Black congressional district, into three districts. The Republican majority in the Tennessee General Assembly said in May that the decision to redraw the districts was political. The plaintiffs said in the lawsuit that the lines were based on race.

The panel from the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Tennessee said the plaintiffs did not prove that race was a factor when drawing the district lines.

“Plaintiffs haven’t shown a discriminatory purpose, so they aren’t likely to succeed on the merits,” the judges said in the decision.