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United States·Elections·Democracy·Protests

Tennessee becomes first state to redraw congressional map after Supreme Court weakens Voting Rights Act

Friday, 8 May 2026, 06:08 · 1 min read

Tennessee's Republican-controlled legislature has approved a new congressional map that dismantles the state's only majority-Black district, centred on Memphis, potentially enabling Republicans to sweep all nine of the state's U.S. House seats in the November midterm elections. Governor Bill Lee swiftly signed the measure into law, making Tennessee the first state to adopt new districts since the U.S. Supreme Court last week issued a ruling significantly weakening the federal Voting Rights Act's protections for minority voters. The vote passed amid dramatic scenes in Nashville, with Democratic lawmakers linking arms in protest and one senator standing on her desk holding a banner denouncing the redistricting as a "Jim Crow" effort, while demonstrators in the galleries chanted and blew air horns. The move is part of a broader Republican redistricting push encouraged by President Donald Trump, with Louisiana, Alabama, and South Carolina also taking steps toward redrawing their own congressional boundaries.

Sources
PBS NewsHourNews Wrap: Tennessee passes new congressional map, sparking protest ↗︎PBS NewsHourTennessee lawmakers pass U.S. House map carving up majority-Black district in Memphis ↗︎PBS NewsHourWATCH: Tennessee Democrats lock arms in protest as GOP lawmakers approve new congressional map ↗︎
Also covered by
Al Jazeera English [1] [2] · Folha de S.Paulo
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