The Tennessee Supreme Court is again delaying a lower court's order requiring the Tennessee General Assembly to redraw its Senate map.
After the 2020 Census, the legislature ignored a state constitution provision requiring that Senate districts within a county be consecutively numbered (so as to stagger senators' terms within a county), leaving Davidson County with all or part of districts 17, 19, 20 and 21. Residents and others sued in 2022, and a trial court panel ruled the maps unconstitutional. The Tennessee Supreme Court quickly moved to delay any action until after the 2022 election.
The lower court panel again ruled the map unconstitutional late last month. But on Friday, the Tennessee Supreme Court approved Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's request to hold off on throwing out the map until all appeals are exhausted. That means the map will likely be in place for the 2024 elections.
The lower court had ordered the Tennessee General Assembly to draw a new map by Jan. 31.
Skrmetti and the state have argued that plaintiff Francie Hunt, who lives in one of the Davidson County districts, didn't have standing to sue because she didn't suffer any harm. The Tennessee Journal reported that plaintiffs argued that if Hunt could not file a lawsuit over the issue, nobody could.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
