Staff Reports
The Supreme Court made a big decision about South Carolina’s congressional district map. They said the lower court made a mistake when they talked about why the map was made the way it was. The high court ruled that the evidence presented was not enough to show that race, not political preferences, was the reason behind the districting.
The case, Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, looked at the map made by the Republican-led South Carolina legislature after the 2020 Census. The NAACP and a voter from District 1 said the map was meant to weaken the voting power of Black residents. But the Supreme Court said that was not true.
— Linda Jones (@lindasuejones49) May 23, 2024
This ruling is important for District 1, where there has been a lot of arguing. Rep. Nancy Mace, who won the district in 2022, said the ruling shows the legislature worked hard to make her district more Republican. The Supreme Court said the evidence from the challengers, like expert reports and statistics, was not good enough.
They also said the lower court did not think about the legislature’s political goals when they made the map. The court said the goal was to make District 1 more Republican, not less Black. The decision is good news for Republicans because it proves they can make maps that help their party without breaking the rules.
The Supreme Court said the challengers did not have enough proof that race played a big part in making the map. They also said the court made a mistake by not thinking about the upcoming elections. The Republicans said they needed to use the map for the elections and it was too late to make a new one.
This ruling shows that Republicans can make district maps that help them win without doing anything wrong. It is a win for them and for fair politics in South Carolina.
