Tennessee Prepares for Redistricting With Help From The Public

Photo Credit: Shaundd / CC & Public Domain

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

As Tennessee prepares to redistrict, lawmakers are trying to make it a fair process. The state House Select Committee on Redistricting is using the latest information from the census to draw new maps. This will lay the boundaries for new political boundaries for the congressional, state senate, and state house districts. 

According to Lt. Governor Randy McNally, the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Redistricting was formed to utilize public input during the process. 

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson will chair the committee while Senate Minority Caucus Chair Raumesh Akbari and Senate Judiciary Chairman Mike Bell will be vice-chairs. 

“This committee will help ensure my commitment to an open and transparent redistricting process,” McNally stated in a recent release. “The Republican-led redistricting process ten years ago solicited public input for the first time. That precedent will continue this year. Every legislator and every member of the public who wishes will have their voice heard in this process. Public input will help the legislature create a fair and legal plan based on the census numbers provided to us. It is a tough job balancing both our federal and state constitutional mandates but I believe this committee and the General Assembly is up to the task.”

Representative Jim Cooper from the state’s Fifth Congressional District, asked lawmakers to keep Nashville whole last month during the Redistricting committee’s inaugural meeting. 

Cooper said, “I believe that your solemn duty is to preserve county boundaries and communities as much as you possibly can. Tennessee law forces you to keep as many counties whole as possible when you draw your own districts; you should use the same standard for congressional districts. Every county and community deserves its own unique voice in our republic whenever possible. Keeping counties whole respects the decisions that average citizens have already made to live and work in the community that they have chosen.”

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One requirement that drew criticism was that plans have to be submitted for the state as a whole. There is no option for smaller-scale plans.

Debbie Gould, president of the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, said, “Individuals may have very significant insights into the needs of their own communities of interest, and can make the case for why their community should be kept together during the redistricting process. After all, who knows the needs of the community better than the people that live there.”

House Minority Leader Karen Camper said she already had an idea to get around the issue, adding how important public input will be. 

“If one community can say, ‘I know what’s best for my community, and they submit it into our caucus, and we can incorporate it into a statewide plan I think that’s phenomenal. And I think we should do it,” Camper said. 

Middle Tennessee State University Political Science Professor Dr Sekou Franklin told WKRN that community members know their communities better than anyone, which is why they should participate. 

“The reason why you want community participation, undoubtedly 100%, is that everyday people, the community, know where people live and don’t live,” Dr Sekou said. “They know if the community has been wiped out by a tornado or a flood. They know if a community has been displaced by transportation, they know there’s an unincorporated community behind the variable tracks.”

Republicans are leading the redistricting process, but House Speaker Cameron Sexton said it is more bipartisan than those in the past.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com