SC House redistricting plan that removes Richland seat advances. Here’s what’s next
South Carolina’s House Judiciary Committee Tuesday adopted a controversial redistricting proposal, meaning it will now advance to the full House for a vote.
The adopted plan, which passed 21-2 with two abstentions, is largely unchanged from the version released Nov. 8, but was amended slightly to modify some district boundaries that should reduce a number of city and voting precinct splits.
The changes aren’t expected to drastically alter the map, which Judiciary Committee adopted after a seven-member redistricting committee composed of four Republicans and three Democrats voted unanimously to advance the proposal.
Lynn Teague, vice president for issues and action with the League of Women Voters of South Carolina, which has criticized the House plan as an “extreme partisan gerrymander,” said the nonpartisan organization would likely not be supporting it.
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising,” she said of the plan’s adoption by the committee. “I’ve said for years that redistricting can be one of the most bipartisan things that happens here, which proves you should be careful what you wish for. Bipartisanship is not always the ideal that you’re seeking.”
The amended map has not yet been made public on the House redistricting website, but should be posted some time Tuesday, lawmakers said.
SC House map plan pits incumbents against one another
The House’s initial proposal split 33 counties and 368 voting precincts, and created 20 districts where minorities comprise a majority of the population.
An analysis by Princeton University’s Gerrymandering Project found the draft House map would give the Republicans two more seats, giving them a veto-proof majority in the chamber, and leave the House with just six competitive districts out of 124.
It’s not clear exactly how the amended map might affect those figures, but any changes are likely to be minimal.
The plan adopted Tuesday draws at least 10 incumbents — four Republicans and six Democrats — into districts with other incumbents, meaning they would have to face off in primaries, if they choose to run again.
The House lawmakers who have been “double bunked” are Reps. Vic Dabney, R-Kershaw, and Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, in District 45; Reps. Sandy McGarry, R-Lancaster, and Richie Yow, R-Chesterfield, in District 53; Reps. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, and Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, in District 93; Reps. Cezar McKnight, D-Williamsburg, and Roger Kirby, D-Florence, in District 101; and Reps. Wendy Brawley, D-Richland, and Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland in District 70.
Prior to the adoption of amendments Tuesday, Kirby and Rep. Lucas Atkinson, D-Marion, had been drawn together in District 59. However, following the House Judiciary Committee’s adoption of an amendment to avoid splitting Lake City, where Kirby lives, he now finds himself with McKnight in District 101.
Govan, the former leader of the Legislative Black Caucus, submitted an amendment to redraw his district so as to avoid a primary challenge from Ott, but the amendment was tabled.
His proposal avoided splitting the city of Orangeburg into four separate districts, and instead combined Bamberg, Allendale and Barnwell counties to form a single district that did not touch Orangeburg.
Rather than being in a district with Ott, the assistant House minority leader, Govan’s proposal put Reps. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, and Lonnie Hosey, R-Barnwell, together.
“This amendment simply does right not only for the citizens of Orangeburg County, but Bamberg, who have already gone on record opposing the draft plan,” he wrote in a memo to his House colleagues shared with The State.
While the Judiciary Committee denied Govan’s request, it did adopt an amendment proposed by Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Richland, that reduced the number of times the city of Orangeburg was split.
The excessive splitting of Orangeburg and the inclusion of Bamberg County in a district with Orangeburg and Allendale counties both received considerable criticism during public testimony last week.
Rep. Justin Bamberg, who sits on the House redistricting committee, on Tuesday defended the redrawing of his district, which would be transformed from one of the most competitive districts in the state into a 60% minority district that would highly favor his reelection.
Contrary to public testimony last week that Bamberg and Orangeburg counties had little in common and should not be combined, Justin Bamberg argued Tuesday that the counties are in fact highly intertwined, having shared a district prior to the last redistricting, and continuing to share a hospital, alcohol and drug abuse facility and newspaper.
A Senate redistricting panel has yet to set a date to advance its own map proposal to that chamber’s Judiciary committee, but has held multiple hearings about its plan this month. The panel last week instructed staff to craft a draft congressional map, but the final product has not been released.
Lawmakers in both chambers have said they hope to have House, Senate and congressional maps adopted by year’s end.
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 10:58 AM.