NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee attorney general's office on Thursday appealed a ruling that blocked a new redistricting map for the state Senate from taking effect.
According to court documents, the Attorney General's Office asked the an appeals court to reverse the three-judge's decision to temporarily block the Senate map and expedite its "consideration of this motion."
The appeal comes just a day after the judges' panel ruled that the GOP-controlled General Assembly violated the state's constitution by improperly numbering the new districts.
The panel gave lawmakers 15 days to fix the problem or an "interim apportionment map" would be imposed. Meanwhile, the filing deadline for Senate hopefuls was pushed back to May 5.
In Wednesday's split decision, the panel did not block the state House districts despite claims from plaintiffs that it divided more counties than needed to create districts with roughly equal populations, diluting the power of minority voters.
The map splits 30 counties, the maximum permitted for the state House.
A footnote in the ruling said the House map could still be blocked later on and the judges ordered a trial on the matter.
Tennessee's constitution dictates that districts must be numbered consecutively in counties that have more than one. The newly drawn redistricting plan does not do that in Nashville's Davidson County.