NAACP Tennessee Files Lawsuit Challenging New Congressional Map
Tennessee NAACP files emergency lawsuit to block new congressional map that eliminates majority-Black district, claiming constitutional violations in special session process.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — The Tennessee chapter of the NAACP filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the state’s newly redrawn congressional map that eliminates a majority-Black voting district, seeking to block the redistricting from taking effect.
NAACP Tennessee President Gloria Sweet-Love filed an emergency petition in Davidson County Chancery Court less than three hours after Governor Bill Lee signed the controversial map into law. The lawsuit targets the Republican supermajority’s decision to carve up a historic Democratic-held district in Shelby County.
The Tennessee Legislature passed the new map during a special three-day session called at President Donald Trump’s request, which came days after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened a key section of the Voting Rights Act. Protesters opposing the redistricting packed the Capitol throughout the entire session.
Constitutional Violations Alleged
The lawsuit argues that Governor Lee violated the Tennessee Constitution when he called the special session without specifically stating its purpose included repealing or suspending a state law that prohibits mid-decade redistricting. The General Assembly passed a bill nullifying that prohibition during the session, with Lee signing it shortly before the final vote on the new map.
According to the lawsuit, the Tennessee Constitution requires that the General Assembly “shall enter no legislative business except that for which they were specifically called together.” The suit contends the new map violates “clear and unambiguous Tennessee statutory law and the mandates of the Tennessee Constitution.”
The legal challenge also targets a provision that suspends residency requirements for candidates running in the newly drawn districts.
Multiple Defendants Named
The lawsuit names both the General Assembly and Governor Lee as defendants. Lee’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the legal challenge.
Sweet-Love previously spoke to protesters on May 5, the first day of the special legislative session, telling the crowd that the situation reminded her of her “teenage years,” before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed.
The legal filing represents the first formal challenge to Tennessee’s redistricting effort, though discussions of potential lawsuits began circulating days before the map’s passage. The timing of the Supreme Court’s decision to weaken Voting Rights Act protections created an opening for the redistricting push that advocates argue undermines minority voting power.
The emergency petition seeks to prevent the implementation of the new congressional boundaries while the constitutional questions are resolved in court. The case will test whether Tennessee’s Republican leadership properly followed state constitutional procedures in their rapid redistricting effort.
