Tennessee’s redrawn congressional voting map intentionally discriminates against Black voters in Memphis, unconstitutionally undermining fair representation for partisan and racial advantage, a lawsuit filed Thursday by civil and voting rights groups alleges.
Filed in federal court by the Tennessee branches of the NAACP and League of Women Voters, Memphis community groups and Memphis voters, the lawsuit seeks an immediate halt to the implementation of the newly drawn maps adopted over a three-day legislative special session last week.
Arguing that the redistricting process reflected a deliberate intent on the part of Republican lawmakers to discriminate against Black voters, the lawsuit lays out a “recent history of racial incidents and statements” inside the Tennessee Legislature…