Redistricting in America

The state House of Representatives signed off on a plan Tuesday to redraw its legislative lines and create a seventh congressional district, centered in Horry County and running along the North Carolina border. The plan requires one more perfunctory vote before heading to the Senate. But some are disappointed with the plan, including the state Democratic Party, whose chairman plans to sue.

The Senate's top officer said Thursday he can defend a redistricting plan that eliminates a majority black district, in part because he believes race should not be the only factor when drawing new lines.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved new district lines for 46 state Senate seats with a unanimous vote, with nine districts where blacks are the majority.

The American Civil Liberties Union had wanted to preserve an existing minority district and add a new one, and the group's state executive director Victoria Middleton said their proposal was more in line with the Voting Rights Act.

South Carolina legislators approved plans for new election boundary lines Monday that includes a new 7th District U.S. House seat in Horry and Georgetown counties. The House Judiciary Committee's approval of redistricting plans for 124 state House seats and the U.S. House now head to the House floor for debate next week. The state Senate will take up plans today drawing lines for its 46 seats as well its version of U.S. House district lines.

With Democrats in South Carolina already at perhaps their lowest point as a political party in state history, the looming prospect of the once-a-decade redrawing of the state’s electoral map could squeeze them even further...

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