COLUMBIA, S.C. —
On Wednesday, South Carolina House members signed an agreement that could keep lawmakers in Columbia even longer, with the goal of redistricting. This continues a fast-changing landscape around redistricting at the South Carolina State House.
"Up until a few days ago, I would have said that South Carolina was not likely to be involved in the push for mid-term redistricting, which is very unusual," says Lynn Teague with the South Carolina League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan voter rights organization.
On Wednesday, a sine die agreement was approved by a House rules committee and by the full House, bringing lawmakers back to Columbia after the session adjourns, with the sole purpose of redistricting.
This comes after pressure from President Donald Trump following a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that lets Louisiana redraw its map.
"It's actually looking like it may well happen that that discussion will happen. If that discussion happens, that doesn't guarantee that there will be redistricting. It means they will try to find a map that they would approve in the sine die session," says Teague.
Teague says redistricting is a double-edged sword for the Republican leaders pushing for it.
"You may make CD-6 more competitive for Republicans. At the same time, there's no way to do that without making adjacent districts more competitive for Democrats. All of the other districts, all six districts besides seat six, are at this time firmly Republican. That would be altered if redistricting is done," she says.
She worries that redistricting could impact voter turnout.
"We are concerned that voters will be discouraged, will believe the maps have been further rigged, will believe that it's not worth voting. That's wrong. All of these maps are based on expectations that derive from previous turnout, who showed up for the previous elections in a very high turnout. Those expectations can be washed away in a flood of new voters or returning voters who might have set it out at one time. It is not hopeless," she explains.
Even with a sine die agreement, Teague says anything can happen.
"Things can change very soon. They may take a vote on that rules amendment to the Senate resolution, in the House later today or tomorrow. We don't know. So those of us WHO are deeply concerned about these issues are just going to be spending a lot of time down there talking to people," she says.
On Wednesday, candidate for governor, Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg, voiced his support of redistricting District 6 and proposed a resolution that would push back the state primaries to August.
Watch the full interview at the link above.
