GOP state legislators in South Carolina requested that the boundaries for Congressional District 1 be restored to the ones they drew after the 2020 Census, and the three judges presiding over the redistricting dispute granted their request.
The Republicans, led by GOP Rep., had requested a stay of the court’s January 2023 ruling that declared the district’s boundaries unconstitutional. Nancy Mace, pending the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the map’s validity.
They claimed that South Carolina’s 2024 election cycle had already begun, with the candidate filing period opening on March 16 and ending on April 1. They further claimed that any last-minute changes to the state’s election calendar and congressional district boundaries would confuse voters and cause chaos.
Currently running for office in Mace’s coastal district and the neighboring district held by Democratic Representative are no fewer than five candidates who have filed to compete in the primaries. Jim Clyburn.
The judges’ brief five-page ruling stated that it is “plainly impractical for the court to adopt a remedial plan for” Congressional District 1 prior to the deadline of April 27 for the mailing of ballots to military personnel and those stationed overseas.
June 11 is the date of South Carolina’s statewide primary elections.
Despite its conclusion that the district is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, the district court panel stated that “the ideal must bend to the practical with the primary election procedures rapidly approaching, the appeal before the Supreme Court still pending, and no remedial plan in place.”. “.
Another election “under an infirm map is justice delayed when plaintiffs have made every effort to get a decision and remedy before another election under a map that denies them their rights,” stated Leah Aden, senior counsel for the Legal Defense Fund, who argued before the Supreme Court in the redistricting case. “.
Republican leaders had filed the request with the district court on March 7, but since the panel hadn’t yet issued a decision, they decided to ask the Supreme Court for emergency relief on March 18.
The Republican-led lawmakers’ request for the Supreme Court to step in has not yet been granted.
In the 2021 redistricting cycle, the GOP-crafted congressional voting map was challenged in federal district court by the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and a voter.
Republicans in South Carolina claimed that the district was created to result in a larger Republican majority.
After the new lines were implemented, Mace easily won reelection in the 2022 midterm elections after having won the seat by a narrow margin in the 2020 election.
The three-judge panel found in January 2023 that state legislators intentionally created Congressional District 1 with racial discrimination in mind and racially gerrymandered it.
District Court ordered the state to postpone elections for Mace’s district until lawmakers approved a plan that complied with the constitution. Later, the GOP-led legislature was granted until 30 days following the Supreme Court’s ruling to submit new boundaries.
After the 2024 election cycle, it modified the previous ruling to prevent elections for Congressional District 1 from being held using the GOP-drawn boundaries.
The GOP legislative leaders and the NAACP had asked the high court to rule by January, so it did so in October after debating whether Republican lawmakers had improperly used race as the primary determining factor when creating Congressional District 1. 1.
Nevertheless, the deadline has long since passed and the justices have not made a ruling.
The Supreme Court’s decision in this case is still pending, but during arguments in the fall, most of the justices seemed dubious of the lower court’s ruling.
Washington — A panel of South Carolina federal district court judges ruled on Thursday that a racially gerrymandered map could be used in the state’s 2024 congressional district elections.
GOP state legislators in South Carolina requested that the boundaries for Congressional District 1 be restored to the ones they drew after the 2020 Census, and the three judges presiding over the redistricting dispute granted their request.
The Republicans, led by GOP Rep., had requested that the court postpone its own ruling from January 2023 declaring the district’s borders unconstitutional. Nancy Mace, as it waits for the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to maintain the map. They contended that South Carolina’s 2024 election cycle had already begun—the state’s election calendar and congressional district boundaries were subject to last-minute changes that would confuse voters and cause chaos. The candidate filing period opened on March 16 and ends on April 1.
In addition to starting their campaigns in Mace’s coastal district and the neighboring district that is represented by Democratic Rep., at least five candidates have filed to compete in the primaries. Jim Clyburn.
In a concise five-page ruling, the judges stated that it is “plainly impractical for the court to adopt a remedial plan for” Congressional District 1 prior to the deadline of April 27 for the mailing of ballots to military personnel and those stationed overseas. June 11 is scheduled as the date of South Carolina’s state primary election.
Despite its conclusion that the district is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, the district court panel stated that “the ideal must bend to the practical with the primary election procedures rapidly approaching, the appeal before the Supreme Court still pending, and no remedial plan in place.”. ****.
In response to the district court’s ruling, Leah Aden, senior counsel for the Legal Defense Fund, who argued in the Supreme Court’s redistricting case, stated that another election “under an infirm map is justice delayed when plaintiffs have made every effort to get a decision and remedy before another election under a map that denies them their rights.”. “.
After submitting their request to the district court on March 7, Republican leaders decided to wait for the panel’s decision before seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court on March 18. The Republican lawmakers’ request for the Supreme Court to step in has not yet been granted.
In federal district court during the 2021 redistricting cycle, the GOP-crafted congressional voting map was challenged by the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and a voter. Republicans in South Carolina had claimed that the district was created to result in a larger Republican majority. After the new lines were implemented, Mace, who had barely won the seat in the 2020 midterm elections, easily won reelection in 2022.
Congressional District 1 was created with racial discriminatory intent and was racially gerrymandered by state lawmakers, according to the ruling of a three-judge panel in January 2023.
District Court ordered the state to postpone elections for Mace’s district until lawmakers approved a plan that complied with the constitution. Later, the GOP-led legislature was granted until 30 days following the Supreme Court’s ruling to submit new boundaries. It changed the previous ruling, which prohibited elections for Congressional District 1 to be held under the GOP-drawn boundaries following the 2024 election cycle.
The Republican legislative leaders and the NAACP had asked the high court to rule by January, so it did so in October after debating whether or not Republican lawmakers had improperly used race as the primary determining factor when creating Congressional District 1. 1. However, the deadline has long since passed and the justices have not made a ruling.
A majority of the Supreme Court seemed dubious of the lower court’s ruling during arguments in the fall, though it is unclear when the court will make a ruling in this case.
