The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Fayette County, Tennessee, alleging its Board of County Commissioners violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The board’s adoption of a county commission redistricting plan did not give black voters “an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect their candidates of choice,” the DOJ alleges.
The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, further alleges the board disregarded advice endorsing plans that included multiple majority-Black voting-age population districts. The Tennessee Comptroller’s Guide to Local Government Redistricting requires consideration of minority representation in district plans. The board received four potential maps from the Redistricting Committee containing several majority-minority districts. The board disregarded these maps and, without discussion, adopted an entirely different map with zero majority-minority districts.
Since its adoption, five Black candidates — including an incumbent with several previous electoral wins — have lost their elections. No Black candidate has been successfully elected under the 2021 plan, and for the first time in over 20 years, no black commissioners sit on the board.
The DOJ also alleges the 2021 redistricting plan is just the most recent effort to diminish black voting power, as it noted the board’s successful efforts in the 2011 redistricting cycle. The county’s troubling voting rights history extends back to the Civil Rights Era, such as when black voters were blocked from voting in the 1959 Fayette County Democratic Primary. The case that emerged, U.S. v. Fayette County Democratic Executive Committee, was the first action in the nation under the Civil Rights Act of 1957.