It looks like the Tennessee General Assembly's state Senate redistricting plan will be in effect after all — at least for 2022.
The Tennessee Supreme Court stayed an injunction issued by a three-judge panel that ordered the legislature to redraw the state Senate maps within 15 days. The lower court ruled a full trial would likely find the maps unconstitutional because Davidson County's four Senate districts are not numbered consecutively as required by the state constitution.
The Supreme Court made no determination on what seems like a fairly straightforward interpretation of simple language, but the court did find that ordering new maps and setting a new qualification date of May 5 did not properly consider the harm to the public interest and the defendants (in this case the state and the entire election apparatus thereof).
In short, the Supreme Court ruled that changing the map at such a late date and altering all the cogs and calendars of the qualifying and election machinery puts an undue burden on election officials — particularly with regard to their ability to satisfy the requirements of the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act — and could cause harmful confusion to voters and candidates.
The court, however, did not rule on the facts of the matter, meaning the state still must defend the maps at trial, where a loss could result in another round of redistricting or another round of appeals (but, honestly, probably both).
Justice Sharon Lee issued the lone dissent, noting — among other things — that the three-judge panel did consider the implications of moving qualifying deadlines on MOVE Act requirements and, in fact, set an earlier deadline than the plaintiffs asked for.
The qualifying deadline for state Senate elections is now Thursday at 4 p.m.
