'TN Poised to Vote on New US House Map 05/07 06:07

   

   NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are poised to 
take up a plan Thursday that could carve up a majority-Black congressional 
district, reshaping it to the GOP's advantage as part of President Donald 
Trump's strategy to try to hold on to a slim House majority in the November 
midterm elections.

   The redistricting effort in Tennessee is one of several rapidly advancing 
plans in Southern states as Republicans try to leverage a U.S. Supreme Court 
ruling that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act.

   The court ruled that Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a 
second Black-majority House district as it attempted to comply with the federal 
law. The high court's decision altered a decades-old understanding of the law, 
giving Republicans grounds to try to eliminate majority-Black districts that 
have elected Democrats.

   Louisiana has postponed its congressional primary to give time for state 
lawmakers to craft a new House map. Legislation awaiting a final vote in 
Alabama also would upend the state's congressional primaries if courts allow 
the state to change its U.S. House districts. In South Carolina, meanwhile, 
Republican lawmakers urged on by Trump have taken initial steps to add 
congressional redistricting to their agenda.

   The states are the latest to join an already fierce national redistricting 
battle. Since Trump prodded Texas to redraw its U.S. House districts last year, 
eight states have adopted new congressional districts. From that, Republicans 
think they could gain as many as 13 seats while Democrats think they could gain 
up to 10. But some competitive races mean the parties may not get everything 
they sought in the November elections.

   Tennessee Republicans act despite protests

   Protesters in Tennessee repeatedly interrupted legislative hearings 
Wednesday on the redistricting plans, yet Republicans advanced them for a 
potential final vote in the full House and Senate.

   The package of bills would repeal a state law prohibiting mid-decade 
redistricting and reopen a candidate qualifying window for new people to enter 
the primary and existing candidates to switch districts. The proposed House map 
would break up Tennessee's lone Democratic-held district, centered on the 
majority-Black city of Memphis, creating a ripple effect of alterations to 
districts throughout the western and central parts of the state.

   Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said the proposed districts were 
drawn based on population and politics, not racial data.

   Democrats and civil rights activists denounced the efforts.

   The proposal "is Black vote dilution at an industrial scale," said Sekou 
Franklin, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University 
who is part of the Tennessee branch of the NAACP.

   Democrats noted that the state Supreme Court in April 2022 rejected a 
challenge to the current congressional map, finding it was too close to the 
election to make changes. This year, there's even less time before the Aug. 6 
primary, raising the potential of confusion for both candidates and voters, 
Democrats said.

   Alabama presses for changes to primary

   The Alabama House passed legislation Wednesday authorizing special 
congressional primaries as Republicans eye the possibility of getting a 
different congressional map in place for the November elections. The bill could 
receive a Senate vote by Friday.

   Alabama is seeking to lift a federal court order that created a second House 
district with a near-majority of Black voters. That map led to the 2024 
election of Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. Republicans want instead to 
use a 2023 map drawn by state lawmakers that would give the GOP an opportunity 
to reclaim Figures' district.

   The legislation won approval on a party-line vote after four hours of fiery 
debate during which Black legislators recalled the state's history. Democratic 
state Rep. Juandalynn Givan likened the legislation to poll taxes and counting 
jelly beans in a jar -- a virtually impossible task that was used to suppress 
Black voters during the Jim Crow era.

   "It is a calculated political maneuver born out of fear, a fear that is of 
Black people and most importantly Black political power," Givan said.

   Alabama's primaries are May 19. If a court grants the state's request, the 
legislation would ignore the results for congressional seats and direct the 
governor to schedule a new primary under the revised districts.

   South Carolina may add redistricting to its agenda

   The South Carolina Senate could take up a resolution Thursday giving 
lawmakers permission to return later, after their regular work ends, to redraw 
congressional districts that could eliminate the state's only Democratic-held 
district. The proposal, which passed the House on Wednesday, needs a two-thirds 
vote in both chambers.

   Republican House leaders said after the vote that they plan to introduce a 
new map Thursday and hold committee meetings on Friday. But during debate 
Wednesday, Republicans fended off specific questions from Democrats, including 
why they were willing to stop the June 9 U.S. House primary elections well 
after candidates filed and how much a rescheduled primary could cost.

   Democratic Rep. Justin Bamberg said he felt sorry for Republicans who, he 
said, were giving up their principles to follow the whims of Trump.

   "The president of the United States is a very powerful man. Wields a heavy, 
heavy thumb -- Truth Social, X, Meta, Instagram. To be honest I don't envy our 
Republican colleagues," Bamberg said.