Redistricting isn’t sexy, but the outcome matters
Tennessee lawmakers will decide the final outcome of legislative and congressional maps for the next decade. Citizens must stay informed and involved.
We are in a calm before the storm in how citizens' voices will be represented in their state legislature and Congress over the next 10 years.
The November deadline for members of the public to submit their proposed maps has passed. Soon Tennessee lawmakers will start making decisions about which communities will stay intact and which will be divided for the purposes of creating new legislative and congressional districts.
Legislators are expected to finish the work by the April 7, 2022, candidate qualifying deadline, but the final maps could be ready as early as January.
Politics will play an oversized role and there could be some major changes. One proposed map, for example, shows Nashville — the state capital, which has historically been intact in one congressional district — could be divided into multiple districts to dilute the Democratic base and shift more power to the Republicans.
The Republican super majority in the
Tennessee General Assembly will have the final say. Across the country, states — whether through elected lawmakers or special commissions — are redrawing maps.
That is why it is important for citizens to follow this process closely, tell lawmakers what they think and work to influence the final outcome.
This matters for representation, for getting necessary resources and for upholding democracy.
Go to this link to find your lawmakers: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators.
What to know about redistricting
Redistricting happens every 10 years based on decennial Census figures, which influence the size of political districts because they are supposed to be proportional in population.
Population losses or stagnation in one area, such as, rural west and northeast Tennessee, will make those district sizes physically larger.
Conversely, fast-growing areas, such as, Middle Tennessee, will see smaller, denser geographic districts to account for a bigger population.
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-nashville wants lawmakers to keep Nashville intact.
Since he is running for re-election in 2022, his map provides him some job security.
Another argument is that Nashville voters would be disenfranchised. If other Nashville voters feel the same way, they should tell the legislature so.
The Tennessee Constitution, Article II, locks in the number of state House districts at 99 and the Senate "shall not exceed one-third the number of representatives."
The current number in the Senate is 33 and that is not expected to change.
At the federal level, the 435 congressional districts shift based upon population growth or decline. Tennessee grew by 8.9% to 6.9 million residents from 2010 to 2020.
However, other states grew faster so the Volunteer State will not add to its nine U.S. House seats — seven are currently represented by Republicans and two are held by Democrats.
All 50 states get two U.S. senators each.
Gerrymandering persists nearly 200 years after it started
History shows there have been some wild political maps drawn.
Illinois has an earmuff-shaped congressional district that unites two Latino communities in the south and north sides of Chicago. The goal was to create that state's first Latino-represented district and the district has essentially not changed since 1992
However, an attempt to create a snake-shaped district that slithered from Orlando and Gainesville in Central Florida to Jacksonville in northeast Florida to create an African American majority district was thrown out in court in 2015.
A Nov. 30 report from the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, shows Republicans and Democrats in many states, including Texas, North Carolina, Illinois and New York are creating maps that favor the party in power at the state legislature.
Nashville is not the only Democratic stronghold that may be divvied up.
Missouri may split Kansas City and Utah lawmakers could slice up Salt Lake City into congressional districts that will skew more Republican.
This kind of political gamesmanship, known as gerrymandering, has happened since the early 19th century (named for Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry in 1812).
Proponents argue that election winners have the right to make the districts more partisan because voters granted them the mandate to do so.
Opponents say gerrymandering makes elections less competitive and, thus, deter a high voter turnout.
There is another important factor to consider, which is a national history of voter suppression that sought to keep certain groups, including women and people of color, from voting.
While there are a minority of state representatives or senators who are people of color, Tennessee's congressional delegations consists of eight white men and one white woman.
The last person of color to represent Tennessee in Congress was former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., Democrat of Memphis, who served from 1997 to 2007.
"Unsurprisingly, communities of color are emerging as principal targets in this decade's redistricting," wrote Michael Li, the author of the Brennan report. "But some of this decade's maps are especially brazen in their treatment of communities of color."
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.