Report: South Carolina at ‘extreme’ gerrymandering risk in 2021

An ostensibly non-partisan advocacy group is concerned that South Carolina is one of more than two dozen states at “extreme” risk of gerrymandging before the next election cycle – the first political races to be run based on the new frontiers plotted following the 2020 US census.

Wait … what is gerrymandering?

This nineteenth-century term refers to the redrawing of district boundaries in order to achieve a specific political end – generally ignoring the natural geographical boundaries or the existing boundaries of the community. Most of the time, gerrymandering in the state of Palmetto contorts district maps to create so-called “majority-minority” districts – in which black populations are isolated in a handful of districts (which invariably elect black leaders).

And no, this is not racist … this is what happens.

In fact, the current map of South Carolina’s seven constituencies is a testament to gerrymandering … with this purpose in mind.

However, there are examples of districts in the state of Palmetto that have been confiscated in the hope of preserving the “republican” majority – including the SC District 20 Senate.

Take a look at your map (which was last redesigned in 2011) …

(Click to view)

(Via: SC State House)

Republican Party leaders in South Carolina (and elsewhere) generally agree with gerrymandering because, by consenting to “majority-minority” districts, they lessen the potential for Democrats to compete elsewhere on the electoral map.

That is why both the House of Representatives of SC and the State Senate are one vote away from “Republicans” who enjoy a super majority …

For those who are not connected to the story, the term “gerrymandering” derives its name from the former vice president of the United States Elbridge Gerry – that as governor of Massachusetts he signed a bill in 1812 that redesigned the state’s Senate districts. A famous political cartoon at the time portrayed one of the contorted districts in the Boston area as a giant lizard, which soon became known as “Gerrymander”.

Funny fact? Gerrymandering is still pronounced with a strong “G” by some Massachusetts residents – which is how Gerry’s name was pronounced.

In any case, according to a new report by RepresentUS – which is pushing for a center-left “electoral reform” project in the capital of our country – the state of Palmetto is extremely vulnerable to gerrymandering because state leaders can secretly draw their political boundaries and manipulate them for “party gain” with limited resources in the courts.

“Republicans are in control of both processes with strong control of both legislatures,” noted the report. “It is not clear whether there are significant restrictions on the ability of the legislature to redistribute with a party bias.”

The group warns that the potential for damage is high after the Shelby County x Holder – 570 US 529 (2013) – a supreme court case that ruled that the “pre-authorization” requirements imposed by the federal government in an effort to prevent discrimination were unconstitutional, as drafted today (due to the fact that the formula involved in achieving such determinations was out of date).

Prior to that decision, South Carolina was one of seven states that required all of its political borders to be “pre-cleared” by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

Our founding editor Will Folks it has long been opposed to gerrymandering – however, to assume that this is a purely partisan problem is to ignore the evidence.

Not, this is cooperative corruption …

Or bipartisanship * t.

“Republicans and Democrats in South Carolina continue to attract legislative districts that isolate incumbents – denying voters real choices at the ballot box,” wrote Folks in a 2018 column condemning the lack of competitiveness in disputes by the SC State Chamber. “It is not surprising that this lack of choice leads to a lack of responsibility – which leads to a lack of progress on a number of fronts.”

How to change the current process?

“Let (redistricting) be conducted scientifically … apolitically,” noted Folks in a column written in June 2019. “Decisions regarding citizen representation are fundamental to the integrity of our representative democracy – and must be made on the basis of on hard data, not political-making agreements. “

Looking at the approaching struggle for redistricting, a Democratic senator Dick Harpootlian – made noise about overthrowing the current system, which routinely safeguards vulnerable holders and protects party feuds at the expense of community representation.

Harpootlian, ironically, represents the Senate’s 20th district – the one depicted earlier in this story that was confiscated to keep its former Republican occupier in office (ops).

According to lawmakers familiar with his plan, Harpootlian redesigned district lines based on computer models – not political interference. In other words, he would draw a “pure” redistricting map in which the lines were proposed based on the natural grouping of communities as opposed to the demographic demands of specific politicians.

Harpootlian has promised to drive this “radical” redistricting reform – although it remains to be seen whether Republican Party leaders will let him go unpunished (and, by the way, whether his own party leaders will support the proposed changes).

Hopefully they will … but we suspect not.

After all, ending gerrymandering means ending the “majority-minority” districts. And Democrats are Never it will support such a shift – even if it ultimately improves your broader electoral prospects.

Of course, given the ideological orientation of the “republican” majority … who can blame the Democrats for remaining in the “minority”.

Ideology aside, however, attracting fair districts is as essential as protecting the vote. As our founding editor wrote earlier this year, “this medium categorically rejects any attempt to manipulate legislative boundaries for political purposes”.

So who cares about the integrity of our representative democracy …

-FITSNews

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