Nashville, Tenn.— A healthy democracy is built on fair representation for all communities in the state. The people who live in a community know it best and understand when unified representation will serve their community of interest the best way possible. There will be a public hearing to learn more about the redistricting process in Tennessee as well as an opportunity for Tennesseans to share their input. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, October 12, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. CDT at Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church, 538 Dr. MLK Jr. Avenue, Memphis. Social distancing and masks will be required. This redistricting hearing will also be live streamed for those who cannot attend in person on Shelby County Voter Alliance facebook https://www.facebook.com/SCVA901 and on Mt. Olive Cathedral youtube https://www.youtube.com/c/MOCCME.
Participants are invited to give brief, informal statements regarding concerns about the future political boundaries that will impact representation for their local community, county or portion of the state. Contact president@lwvtn.org to reserve your spot to speak. Statements should be limited to three minutes. For those watching online, please send written comments to president@lwvtn.org .
All comments will be shared with the state lawmakers who are responsible for drawing the redistricting boundaries. This redistricting hearing is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, the Tennessee Conference of the NAACP, CivicTN, Shelby County Voter Alliance, Tennessee Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, Free Hearts, and Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. Community groups are encouraged to contact these sponsoring organizations to learn more about the redistricting process and to schedule programs. Further information about the legislative process can be found at the Tennessee House Committee for Redistricting (https://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/committees/Redistricting.aspx) including the timeline for map submissions, list of committee members, and current census data. The Tennessee Legislature will vote on the finalized maps in January 2022. For more information about this hearing as well as an October 19 hearing slated for Chattanooga, contact president@lwvtn.org.
