Democracy Docket

Lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina against president of the South Carolina Senate Thomas Alexander (R), Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives Murrell Smith (R) and South Carolina Election Commission Executive Director Howard Knapp challenging the state’s congressional districts. The league also asks the court to order the adoption of a new congressional redistricting plan that complies with state law.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of South Carolina, and Duffy & Young LLC filed a lawsuit today challenging partisan gerrymandering of South Carolina’s congressional districts. The League of Women Voters of South Carolina is the plaintiff. The lawsuit alleges those lawmakers violated the South Carolina Constitution when they manipulated the map to create an artificial Republican advantage in the First Congressional District, a coastal district traditionally anchored in Charleston.

The Statehouse Report

Increasingly, watchdogs say, legislators are using provisos to push through controversial social policies, such as statewide restrictions on public school lesson plans, without proper public scrutiny or committee review. “Social policy issues should be addressed through the full legislative process, including public hearings,” said Lynn Teague, Vice President of the League of Women Voters. “It’s an evasion of public responsibility to tuck these things in as budget provisos.”

South Carolina Daily Gazette

Elections for just over half of South Carolina’s 170 legislative seats will be settled by the end of this month. That’s because 80 incumbents seeking re-election and candidates for six open seats will have no competition at all in November. That’s why it’s so important for voters to participate in next week’s primaries and — for the contests not decided June 11 — the run-offs two weeks later, said Lynn Teague with the state League of Women Voters.

“People who are very angry, who are operating at the extremes, are probably going to vote in that primary,” Teague said. “Whereas somebody sitting at home, mainly concerned about the fact they just had to have their car repaired because of all the potholes, may not pay attention to the fact an election is happening until October."