Republican lawmakers across Southern states are actively redrawing congressional maps, poised to dismantle majority-Black districts and consolidate their political control, leveraging a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act.
In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers are set to vote today on a plan that would carve up a majority-Black congressional district centered on Memphis. This move is part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to maintain a slim House majority in the November midterm elections, directly impacting the political representation of a historically marginalized segment of the working class.
The Supreme Court’s decision, which ruled that Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Black-majority House district, altered a decades-old understanding of the law. This ruling provides Republicans with the legal grounds to eliminate majority-Black districts that have historically elected Democrats, thereby suppressing organized challenges to the existing distribution of power.
Louisiana has already postponed its congressional primary to allow state lawmakers to craft a new House map. Similarly, legislation awaiting a final vote in Alabama would upend the state’s congressional primaries if courts permit changes to its U.S. House districts. In South Carolina, Republican lawmakers, urged on by Trump, have initiated steps to add congressional redistricting to their agenda.
The State as Enforcer of Class Interests
Protesters in Tennessee repeatedly interrupted legislative hearings yesterday on the redistricting plans, yet Republicans advanced them for a potential final vote in the full House and Senate today. The package of bills aims to repeal a state law prohibiting mid-decade redistricting and reopen a candidate qualifying window, facilitating the manipulation of electoral processes.
Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton stated the proposed districts were drawn based on population and politics, not racial data. However, Democrats and civil rights activists have denounced these efforts, with Sekou Franklin, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University and part of the Tennessee branch of the NAACP, describing the proposal as “Black vote dilution at an industrial scale.”
Democrats noted that the state Supreme Court in April four years ago rejected a challenge to the current congressional map, finding it too close to the election to make changes. This year, with even less time before the August 6 primary, Democrats warn of potential confusion for both candidates and voters, highlighting the procedural disruptions caused by these maneuvers.
In Alabama, the House passed legislation yesterday authorizing special congressional primaries. Republicans seek to lift a federal court order that created a second House district with a near-majority of Black voters, which led to the 2024 election of Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. Republicans intend to use a 2023 map drawn by state lawmakers to reclaim Figures’ district, directly targeting the political gains of the Black working class.
Resistance and Liberal Limitations
The Alabama legislation won approval on a party-line vote after four hours of fiery debate. Black legislators recalled the state’s history, with Democratic state Rep. Juandalynn Givan likening the legislation to poll taxes and counting jelly beans in a jar, historical methods used to suppress Black voters during the Jim Crow era. Givan stated, “It is a calculated political maneuver born out of fear, a fear that is of Black people and most importantly Black political power.” Alabama’s primaries are May 19, and if a court grants the state’s request, the legislation would ignore the results for congressional seats and direct the governor to schedule a new primary under the revised districts.
The South Carolina Senate could take up a resolution today, allowing lawmakers to return later to redraw congressional districts that could eliminate the state’s only Democratic-held district. This proposal, which passed the House yesterday, requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers. Republican House leaders plan to introduce a new map today and hold committee meetings tomorrow, despite Democratic questions regarding stopping the June 9 U.S. House primary elections and the cost of a rescheduled primary.
Democratic Rep. Justin Bamberg expressed sympathy for Republicans, stating they were giving up their principles to follow the whims of Trump. Bamberg noted, “The president of the United States is a very powerful man. Wields a heavy, heavy thumb — Truth Social, X, Meta, Instagram. To be honest I don’t envy our Republican colleagues.” These liberal criticisms focus on individual political figures and procedural irregularities, rather than challenging the systemic use of the state to entrench class power through electoral manipulation.