Federal Panel Allows Tennessee Redrawn Memphis District Map to Stand for 2026 Elections
A three-judge federal panel denied a preliminary injunction against Tennessee's new congressional map, which splits Memphis and Shelby County across three districts, allowing it to govern the August 6 primary and November general election. The panel found plaintiffs unlikely to succeed on their racial vote dilution claim because the map's effects were adequately explained by the legislature's stated partisan goal of securing a Republican 9-0 delegation, and it dismissed the First Amendment retaliation claim as a nonjusticiable political question. The underlying lawsuit remains active, and the ACLU of Tennessee has said it will continue pursuing permanent relief.