Tennessee Republicans redraw map to axe last Democrat district
· UPIMay 7 (UPI) -- The Tennessee state legislature on Thursday passed a redistricting map that eliminates the state's last Democrat-leaning, Black-majority district. It now goes to Gov. Bill Lee, one step closer to becoming law.
Both the state House and Senate passed the plan Thursday. The move comes after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last week that weakened a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, one that had helped ensure minority groups could elect their choice of candidates. The decision was expected to set off moves like the one Thursday in Tennessee.
Tennessee's sole Black-majority district (of nine) has been represented by Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat, for years, The Washington Post reported. The district is based around the city of Memphis.
The move broke the district into three parts and means that all nine of the state's districts now have a Republican majority, The Guardian reported. Protesters gathered outside and inside the legislature, and police removed some from the viewing gallery during the special session, WTVC-TV reported.
In response to the move, state Rep. Justin Jones, a Democrat, said some Republican lawmakers were "seething with racism" and called the plan "a form of Jim Crow terror," The Washington Post reported. He also called Tennessee Speaker Cameron Sexton "the grand wizard in chief."
Vincent Dixie, a state representative from Nashville, asked Republicans not to approve the changes. "If Republican policies are so great, why are we changing the lines to rig elections?" he asked, The Guardian reported. "Where is your humanity in this?"
Republicans said the move is necessary.
"This bill represents Tennessee's attempt to maximize our partisan advantage," state Sen. John Stevens said, WTVC-TV reported.
"This map was drafted based on politics, based on population and for the first time in history for us to send an entire Republican delegation from Tennessee to represent that state in Washington, D.C.," state Rep. Jason Zachary said, The Washington Post reported.
Other Southern states, including Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana, are also moving in this direction.