A three-judge federal panel on July 23 declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would block Tennessee’s new congressional map, which splits a majority-black district into three congressional districts.
Tennessee revised its congressional map in May following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which limited the use of race in redistricting under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The new map splits the Democratic stronghold of Memphis into three U.S. congressional seats, up from one, which is held by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.).
A group of nonprofits and voters represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued in May to block the state’s new congressional map ahead of the August primary, alleging that it unlawfully discriminates against black voters in Memphis.
In a 15-page ruling, the panel of judges denied the request, finding that the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits because they “lack any direct evidence of racial motivation” and failed to establish a discriminatory purpose.
“At bottom, plaintiffs won’t succeed on their vote-dilution claim because they haven’t presented meaningful evidence that race—not politics—motivated Tennessee’s May 2026 map,” the judges stated. “So they can’t overcome our presumption of legislative good faith because they haven’t shown that the legislature acted ‘because of’ the map’s racial effects.”
This story will be updated with additional details.
