South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has called a special session for later Thursday to vote on redistricting. File Photo by Stephen B. Morton/EPA
May 14 (UPI) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to call a special session of the legislature to redraw the state’s congressional districts, state sources have said.
McMaster, a Republican, is expected to call the session after the legislature adjourns Thursday afternoon, CBS News reported.
Some South Carolina Republicans were against the redistricting effort, but the measure only needs a simple majority to pass in the special session. McMaster can’t be re-elected due to term limits.
The proposed map would carve up the district held by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., and give Republicans an advantage in all seven districts in the state.
“I urge the General Assembly to finish its work according to the U.S. and South Carolina constitutions and the best interests of the people,” McMaster said Tuesday.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in late April struck down Louisiana’s previous congressional map, calling it an unlawful racial gerrymander. The ruling struck down an important provision of the Voting Rights Act, Section 2, which disallowed states from diluting Black Americans’ voting power. The 6-3 decision in the case Louisiana v. Callais pushed lawmakers in other southern states, including South Carolina, to follow suit.
State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort County, said he will still oppose redrawing the maps if it comes to a vote.
“South Carolina’s maps are legally sound, our electoral position is strong and the process being proposed remains constitutionally and practically indefensible,” CBS reported he said Wednesday.
The state’s primaries are set for June 9, but a separate bill would move them to August. The legislature will need to approve a new map by May 26. Also, hundreds of voters overseas have already cast their absentee ballots.
South Carolina House leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens County, told reporters he was ready to quickly move forward with a new map.
But state Sen. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, was not as eager. Massey gave a passionate speech on Tuesday against redistricting.
“Too many people in power just want to do whatever it takes to stay in power,” The Times reported he said. “They’ll do whatever it takes to keep it, but I ask to what end? What do you do with it when you’ve attained it?”
Massey said he wasn’t against redistricting to help Republicans but said the current map still works.
“I haven’t heard anything that alleviates the concerns, not just for me but for other people that I’ve been talking to,” Massey told The Times. “The concerns are there. If anything, they’re only heightened.”
Republicans in the state have said their concerns include that redistricting could push Black voters to the polls, which would endanger Republican candidates in other districts in the state.
Massey called the move “very risky.”
“Very candidly, you’re going to motivate Black turnout, and there will be repercussions from that,” including on local races, he said in his Tuesday speech.
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