COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCIV) — A case challenging the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering in South Carolina's congressional districts is headed for oral arguments before the state Supreme Court Tuesday.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of South Carolina, and Duffy & Young LLC filed League of Women Voters of South Carolina v. Alexander in July 2024 with the aim of ending partisan gerrymandering and the court striking down South Carolina's controversial congressional redistricting plan, alleging that the state legislature violated the state's constitution when it created a Republican advantage in the First Congressional District.
The US Supreme Court previously upheld South Carolina's district map in May 2024, rejecting a lower court decision on the ACLU's case Alexander v. SC NAACP, which argued the redrawing of District 1 was an example of racial gerrymandering. The new district lines saw Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn's sixth district gain nearly two-thirds of the Black, often Democrat voters in Charleston County, while Rep. Nancy Mace's District 1 became roughly 6% more Republican, effectively eliminating the only swing district in the state and turning it into a red one, while further cementing Clyburn in his.
In a 6-3 decision, the majority opinion stated that the map did not violate the Constitution. Specifically, conservative Justice Samuel Alito said the map was a partisan gerrymander that did not violate the Constitution.
The ACLU says Republican lawmakers admitted to drawing the state's map to entrench their own power along political lines, referring to Rep. Jay Jordan (R-Florence) wanting to "pull the first red" and Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey telling reporters "it would have been political malpractice for us to sacrifice the 1st."
"We were not going to pass a plan to sacrifice the First, but that was all about political contributions," Sen. Massey said in May 2024, The State reports. "And that was the case because those are the rules that the Supreme Court set out that we knew this is something that we could do, so that's what we did."
League of Women Voters of South Carolina v. Alexander challenges the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering under the South Carolina Constitution, Article 1, Section 5 that states:
All elections shall be free and open, and every inhabitant of this State possessing the qualifications provided for in this Constitution shall have an equal right to elect officers and be elected to fill public office.
Read the full article at the link above. Oral arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday, June 24 at 2 p.m. and can be watched by clicking the link here.
