The Republican-led South Carolina Senate voted Tuesday against advancing a new congressional map, ending the redistricting effort in the state for now. Twelve Republicans joined with Senate Democrats to vote for a motion to kill the legislative effort to redraw South Carolina’s seven congressional districts. The vote was 20-24 against a motion to force a final vote on the bill/map.
The high-profile push came to an abrupt end as South Carolina state senators adjourned the special session, backing away from changes to district lines amid surging early voting across the state. Lawmakers spent roughly three hours at the State House before support for the proposal started to unravel. Republicans who had previously backed the effort began switching their votes as record-setting early voting turnout was reported on the first day ballots were cast. Sen. Richard Cash, a conservative Republican from Anderson, was the first in his party to publicly reverse course.
Concerns around the plan were numerous. Many who spoke against the maps noted the plans would be based on population estimates under Census data compiled more than a half-decade earlier, at a time South Carolina led the nation in population growth. Others argued the maps ignored the on-the-ground social and economic realities of the state’s communities.
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