(C) Tennessee Lookout
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State Supreme Court redistricting ruling overturns lower courts again – Tennessee Lookout [1]
['Sam Stockard', 'More From Author', '- December']
Date: 2023-12-12
The Tennessee Supreme Court set the stage for overturning a lower court’s ruling with a move vacating an order for the state Senate to redraw district maps by Jan. 31 because they were found unconstitutional.
A spokesman for Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said Monday he is “grateful the court recognized the clear and convincing need for a stay” in the case and noted he is “optimistic” the state will “prevail on appeal.”
The Tennessee Court of Appeals is expected to consider the matter next.
Democratic Sen. Charlane Oliver, however, called the redistricting a “delay tactic” by “right-wing folks who have an agenda to keep people from voting.”
Oliver, a Nashville Democrat, said she believes the ruling “is another tactic by the courts to play into that right-wing agenda to not have accountability.”
The state’s highest court made the ruling last week with no explanation other than to say it “carefully considered the arguments of the parties and the relevant timing considerations” in overturning a three-judge panel’s ruling that the Senate redistricting plan is unconstitutional and should be redrawn by the end of January.
Democratic voter Francie Hunt, executive director of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, challenged the redistricting plan, arguing the Senate districts in Davidson County are not numbered consecutively as required by the state Constitution. Hunt lives in Hermitage, which is in Senate District 17, represented by Republican Sen. Mark Pody of Lebanon.
The remaining districts in Davidson County, 19, 20 and 21, are held by Democrats. But the Constitution requires consecutive numbering to avoid having complete turnover of a county’s Senate delegation in one voting cycle.
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s primary argument is that Hunt doesn’t have standing to sue because she can’t prove any harm from the redistricting plan. A dissenting judge in the initial 2-1 ruling found that Hunt couldn’t prove standing to file suit.
Hunt filed for an expedited ruling by the Supreme Court to force a redrawing of the district by the qualifying deadline for the 2024 election. But under the ruling late last week, new districts likely couldn’t be redrawn until the 2026 election if the courts find the plan is unconstitutional.
This is the second high-profile case in the last three years in which the Supreme Court overruled lower courts. A Davidson County chancellor and the appeals court both found the governor’s 2019 Education Savings Account plan violated Tennessee’s Home Rule Amendment, which requires approval by local voters of the local elected body. But the Supreme Court ultimately ruled on a technicality that the private school voucher plan could go forward.
Oliver pointed out this case is different in that the highest court didn’t make the final decision. But she remained critical, saying the Supreme Court is failing to uphold the Constitution.
“It’s unfortunate that the Supreme Court ruled that way even though they’re … in violation of the Constitution. We’re basically intentionally allowing illegal maps to go forward,” she said. “Where’s the checks and balances from the court to check this unchecked power that we have from the legislative branch, the supermajority?”
Oliver contends the court should have moved forward with requiring a new map immediately because the results of the 2024 election could be found “null and void” if the districts are unconstitutional.
Where’s the checks and balances from the court to check this unchecked power that we have from the legislative branch, the supermajority? – Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville
The Supreme Court also denied a request by plaintiff Gary Wygant of Trenton in West Tennessee for an expedited appeal in his claim the state House redistricting map is unconstitutional because it splits 30 counties, the most allowed for redistricting following the census of 2020 to reapportion voting districts. The three-judge panel ruled against Wygant, finding the House plan is constitutional.
Democrats say Republicans have gerrymandered the maps to create a supermajority giving the GOP a 74-25 advantage in the House and 27-6 edge in the Senate. Tennesseans typically vote 60-40 in national elections such as presidential races.
The Legislature created three-judge panels to consider redistricting cases and constitutional challenges, contending those questions should be decided by a wider variety of judges statewide rather than by “liberal” Davidson County chancellors. In several of those situations, though, the judicial panels have struck down legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Bill Lee.
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https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/12/12/state-supreme-court-redistricting-ruling-overturns-lower-courts-again/
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