A coalition of voting and civil rights advocates in Tennessee has decided not to refile a federal lawsuit that alleged the state’s U.S. House map and state Senate boundaries constitute unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.
In a news release issued on Friday, the plaintiffs, whose case was dismissed last month, expressed that they are facing “new, substantial and unjust standards to prove racial gerrymandering,” following a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning South Carolina’s political maps.
When a three-judge panel dismissed the lawsuit, they offered the plaintiffs the opportunity to amend and refile their complaint if they could “plausibly disentangle race from politics.”
Despite this setback, the plaintiffs are encouraging participation in the upcoming election on November 5, highlighting Tennessee’s low voter turnout. The deadline for voter registration was October 7, with early voting set to commence on October 16.
