Voting Group Asks S. Carolina Court to Order Redraw of US House Districts That Lean Too Republican
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A coalition dedicated to safeguarding and expanding voting rights has taken a significant step by petitioning South Carolina's highest court to mandate a redrawing of the state's U.S. House districts, which they argue are excessively skewed in favor of the Republican Party. This legal action comes on the heels of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the current congressional map, asserting that the state General Assembly did not engage in racial gerrymandering based on the 2020 Census.
The newly established congressional map has solidified a Republican advantage of 6-1 in the U.S. House, following a surprising Democratic victory in one district two years prior. The League of Women Voters, the organization spearheading the lawsuit, contends that the existing districts violate the South Carolina constitution's mandates for free and open elections, as well as the principle of equal protection under the law.
Allen Chaney, the legal director for the South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is representing the League, emphasized the importance of fair representation. “Gerrymandering districts to disproportionately empower one party is a form of cheating,” Chaney stated. “South Carolina voters deserve to vote alongside their neighbors, with their votes carrying equal weight. This case is about restoring representative democracy in South Carolina, and I am optimistic that the South Carolina Supreme Court will uphold these principles.”
The lawsuit targets the leadership of both the Republican-controlled state Senate and House, which approved the current maps in January 2022. In response, Republican House Speaker Murrell Smith dismissed the lawsuit as an attempt by special interests to achieve through litigation what they could not accomplish at the ballot box. “I firmly believe these claims will be found as baseless as other challenges to these lines have been,” Smith asserted.
The ACLU's lawsuit highlights how South Carolina lawmakers have manipulated district boundaries, splitting counties, cities, and communities to ensure that Republican voters dominate the 1st District, which stretches from Charleston to Beaufort. This district was previously flipped by a Democrat in 2018 but returned to Republican control in 2020. Conversely, Democratic-leaning voters were relegated to the 6th District, which was intentionally designed to have a majority of minority voters. This district encompasses both downtown Charleston and Columbia, over 100 miles apart, with little shared interest.
Despite former President Donald Trump's 55% victory in South Carolina during the 2020 election, the ACLU argues that none of the seven congressional districts are competitive. The organization points out that in the 2022 elections, Republicans secured four of the five contested seats with margins ranging from 56% to 65%, while Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn won his district with 62%.
The ACLU's lawsuit underscores the absence of competitive districts in the current congressional map, where Democrats are excessively concentrated in the 6th District. The organization notes that simulations indicate that adhering to traditional redistricting principles would have resulted in a map featuring two competitive congressional districts.
In a bid for expedited justice, the civil rights group is urging the state Supreme Court to directly address the lawsuit, bypassing lower court proceedings. The ACLU also draws parallels to other states, such as Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico, where courts have ruled that drawing congressional districts to favor one political party infringes upon the rights to equal protection and free and fair elections, as enshrined in their state constitutions.