Type:
Blog Post
The SC Senate’s off and running.
The first meeting of the South Carolina Senate 2021 Redistricting Subcommittee was held this morning, July 20. The meeting was live-streamed and can be accessed in the video archive at https://www.scstatehouse.gov/video/archives.php.
We need to act quickly!
As we expected, the late delivery of census data has led to a compressed schedule for producing new legislative district maps. That means a tight schedule for public comment on a complex process. The Senate will address both South Carolina Senate and U. S. House of Representatives districts.
Statewide public meetings, July 27-Aug. 12, 6:30 p.m.
Today the staff and senators outlined a comprehensive – but rapid – process for hearing from the state’s citizens:
- Tuesday, July 27: Columbia
- Wednesday, July 28: Sumter
- Thursday, July 29: Rock Hill
- Monday, Aug. 2: Greenville
- Tuesday, Aug. 3: Florence
- Wednesday, Aug. 4: Beaufort
- Monday, Aug. 9: Orangeburg
- Tuesday, Aug. 10: N. Charleston
- Wednesday, Aug. 11: Conway
- Thursday, Aug. 12: Graniteville
Refer to the 
SC Senate Redistricting Hearings Schedule Summer 2021
No Oscar performances necessary, just your voice!
Too often citizens find the prospect of public testimony daunting. It should not be. Everyone in South Carolina has a lot at stake in this process. Whether In-person, by Zoom, or in writing, your voice matters.
We can help.
Be ready to comment on the criteria that matter most to you, on the communities of interest that are especially important in your area, and on any other factors that should be considered by those drawing the lines.
- An SC Senate Redistricting website includes meeting plans, contact information, and guidance for participants.
- The LWVSC redistricting site may be helpful in constructing testimony.
This is not the last word.
Following these hearings, the Senate Subcommittee intends to hold a meeting to adopt official criteria and to announce plans for further input. Working from Aug. 16 US Census raw data, they will develop their own draft maps for public review and comment. The data needed to construct maps will be made available to the public through the website, so anyone who wishes to do so can submit maps for consideration by the Subcommittee.
Need an incentive to get involved?
The above map shows Senate district outcomes in the 2020 General election. Districts decided by margins in excess of 10% were probably never competitive. We surely can do better than this.
We want a choice when we vote in November.
We want legislators who are not chosen by a small number of party loyalists in primary elections, but who are chosen by all of us, to faithfully represent all of us, to reflect our concerns and interests. That can only happen in November.
#WeAreWatching
Lynn
Lynn Shuler Teague
VP for Issues and Action
League of Women Voters of South Carolina
League to which this content belongs:
South Carolina
