Federal Court Rules South Carolina's Congressional Elections Will Proceed Under Unconstitutional Map

South Carolina's Congressional Election Map Ruled Unconstitutional

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal court has made a ruling that will impact this year's congressional elections in South Carolina. The court has decided that the elections will proceed under a map that had previously been deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory against Black voters.

Time Constraints and Voting Deadlines

With South Carolina's primary elections scheduled for June 11 and early voting set to commence on May 28, the federal court's decision comes at a critical juncture. The looming deadlines, including the April 27 cutoff for overseas absentee ballots, have factored into the court's ruling, as the judges deemed it “plainly impractical” to make changes to the maps.

Background of the Case

The case centers on South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace. Following a prior ruling that the district violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment due to the use of race as a proxy for partisan affiliation, the court had mandated a redraw.

In the 2020 election, Mace won the district by a narrow margin of 1% against Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Cunningham. However, after redistricting based on the 2020 census results, Mace secured reelection by a substantial 14% margin in 2022.

Legal Challenge and Supreme Court Delay

Upon redrawing the district, civil rights groups swiftly filed a lawsuit, alleging that the new map disenfranchised Black voters and created a safer seat for Republicans. Last year, a three-judge panel found that the state legislature had effectively excluded 30,000 Democratic-leaning Black voters from the 1st District in an effort to bolster Mace's position.

While the Supreme Court heard arguments in October, a decision on the case is still pending. Both the state and the civil rights groups had sought a resolution by January 1 to facilitate orderly preparation for the upcoming elections.

Reaction and Criticism

Following the recent federal court ruling, the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the organizations involved in the case, expressed discontent with the outcome. Adriel I. Cepeda Derieux, deputy director for the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, condemned South Carolina's failure to address the racially gerrymandered congressional map, asserting that it disregards the rights of Black voters and perpetuates voter suppression in the state.

Comparison with Alabama Case

The South Carolina case differs from a similar one in Alabama, where the Supreme Court ruled last year that Republican lawmakers had diluted Black voters’ political power under the Voting Rights Act. This decision resulted in the implementation of a new map featuring a district with a substantial population of Democratic-leaning Black voters.

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Contributions to this report were made by Mark Sherman in Washington.