Several Republican-led Southern states are ramping up efforts to redraw congressional maps after a recent Supreme Court ruling, as GOP lawmakers look to protect their narrow House majority ahead of the midterms.

The decision weakened a key section of the Voting Rights Act. It opened the door for states like Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and South Carolina to pursue new congressional maps that could favor Republicans and threaten Democratic-held seats, according to The Hill.

Tennessee Republicans passed a bill on Thursday approving a new electoral map that threatens to unseat the state’s only House Democrat. The legislation also states that residents in that district will likely not be notified when their polling places or voting precincts change following the redistricting process, Blavity reported.

The renewed redistricting push comes as Democrats suffered a setback in Virginia, where the state Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved redistricting plan that could have expanded Democratic representation in the House.

Here’s what residents in these Southern states should know about the redistricting process and how it could affect voters.

Louisiana

In a 6-3 ruling, the SCOTUS stated in Louisiana v. Callais that the state’s second majority-Black congressional district was unconstitutional and weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which protected new majority-minority districts, per Blavity and The Hill.

“This ruling makes it less likely that we ever will [be fully represented],” Damon Hewitt, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told Blavity. “The impact of this ruling cannot be understated.”

Additionally, it makes it harder to prove racial discrimination in redistricting cases. It gives states more leeway to argue that maps are driven by politics rather than race, a shift that could weaken Black political representation for years to come.

Tennessee

State GOP lawmakers have approved a new map that splits the only majority-Black district in the state, Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen’s 9th Congressional District in Memphis, into three separate districts. The map also expands Nashville into five districts, according to The Hill.

Cohen testified before GOP lawmakers last week, condemning their redistricting efforts and vowing to fight them, as he has represented his district for more than 20 years.

“And just like that, the TN GOP voted to enforce a racial gerrymander of Memphis and strip our city of effective representation for decades,” Cohen wrote on social media Thursday.

He continued, “Trump knows he HAS TO rig the game to keep his majority in November. And the TN GOP was willing to go along with it. It’s shameful. Next stop is the courts.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed the map into law on Thursday after initially calling a special redistricting session the previous week.

Alabama

On Friday, Alabama lawmakers passed legislation that could trigger new elections under a GOP-backed map if courts lift a previous injunction.

If courts remove that requirement, Republicans could move forward with a different map that may weaken Black voting influence and make Rep. Shomari Figures’ D-Alabama seat more accessible to Republicans in November, according to The Hill.

However, if the injunction stays, it would have no effect, as it currently protects a congressional map with two districts where Black voters have strong voting power. State Democrats and Black lawmakers have pushed back against the effort. The governor has until May 19 to sign the bill.

South Carolina

South Carolina Republicans are exploring changes that could eliminate Rep. James Clyburn’s Democratic district. Democrats and civil rights advocates argue that the moves would reduce Black political representation and are challenging several of the plans in court.

Clyburn, who represents the state’s majority-Black 6th Congressional District, said Thursday that “we cannot let them succeed,” as Republicans could have a 7-0 advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation.

“Republicans in the South Carolina state legislature began the process of extending their session to allow for the redrawing of the state’s congressional map — with one goal in mind: eliminating the state’s only Democratic House district that is occupied by a Democrat,” Clyburn said in a series of posts on the social platform X.

“Republicans are trying to break apart South Carolina’s 6th District. Not because voters demanded it, but because Donald Trump requested it.”

Similar to Tennessee, President Donald Trump has also called on South Carolina to redistrict, as it could boost Republicans’ chances of maintaining their slim majority.