Tennessee’s Political Lineup

Districting Principles 

 + = required             - = prohibited

Who’s in Charge of Redistricting?

The legislature. Generally, the majority and minority leaders in both houses prepare congressional and state legislative district plans. The governor has veto power over both plans.

Redistricting Deadline

None.

Political Landscape

The congressional plan was the result of only modest changes in 1991. Democrats controlled the process, but were unable to protect their partisan advantage in the 1994 elections, when they lost two seats that lean slightly Republican. With split partisan control in 2001, major changes are unlikely. Only one Democratic seat (Harold Ford’s CD 9) is completely safe if an incumbent were to step down.

Public Access

Tennessee does not hold statewide public hearings, although individual representatives are free to get input from their constituencies. The public can attend open committee meetings, but there is no special effort to make the redistricting process more accessible to the public. There are no plans to use the Internet. Paper maps of introduced bills may be made available in the legislative library.

Legal Issues

Tennessee’s 1992 house legislative redistricting plan was struck down in U.S. district court on equal population grounds. Tennessee tried to justify its 14% overall population variance with its need to abide by the state constitution and avoid splitting counties. The court refused to accept this argument in light of the plaintiffs’ alternative plan, which achieved a variance of less than 10% and split fewer county lines.

A new plan, enacted by the General Assembly in 1994, was subjected to three challenges: a partisan gerrymandering claim, a state constitutional claim regarding the splitting of counties and a minority vote dilution charge. The court dismissed the partisan gerrymandering and the state constitution claims but considered the vote dilution claim. The plaintiffs lost after a trial.