Tennessee has become a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy after Republicans expelled two Black lawmakers from the state Legislature for their part in a protest urging passage of gun-control measures.
In separate votes on Thursday, the GOP supermajority expelled Justin Jones and Justin Pearson — a move leaving about 140,000 voters in primarily Black districts in Nashville and Memphis with no representation in the Tennessee House.
The removal of the lawmakers, who were only recently elected, reflects a trend in dozens of states where some believe Republicans are trying to make it harder to cast ballots and challenging the integrity of the election process. It's also become common for the GOP to challenge the electoral process and raise questions about election integrity. The next question is whether states with Republican supermajorities will follow Tennessee's lead in expelling opponents with different points of view, she said.
The president of the Congressional Black Caucus, Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford, called for the Tennessee lawmakers to be returned to their seats and for Attorney General Merrick Garland to look into potential violations of the Voting Rights Act. The trio's participation in the demonstration lasted only a few minutes. It was Sexton who called for a recess to meet with lawmakers.
Cardwell, who is white, also questioned the motives behind the expulsions: "We've just got a lot of old white men there who are prejudiced."
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