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Redistricting plan faces hurdles |
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By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
With a final Senate vote last week creating a Seventh Congressional District in the Lowcountry, South Carolina’s redistricting efforts face several more hurdles before being finalized.
This latest plan is largely good news for Upstate voters who saw the balance between Spartanburg and Greenville counties remain about the same in the Fourth Congressional District. Most of Spartanburg County and the northern two-thirds of Greenville County form the district under the latest plan. The northeastern corner of Spartanburg County has been moved into the Fifth Congressional District.
With the Senate’s approval of the latest plan, action returns to the House where representatives can either approve the plan as is and send it to the governor or amend it and send it back to the Senate. The final plan the House approved earlier in June created a new Seventh District in the Pee Dee area near Florence and Myrtle Beach, similar to the plan championed by GOP leaders in the Senate. House members are not expected to pass the latest Senate plan as is.
The likely outcome is a conference committee of both House and Senate members which will try to develop a compromise plan to send to the governor. If such an agreement cannot be reached, the next step would be a three-judge federal panel to develop new congressional districts. Federal involvement stems from South Carolina’s checkered past regarding the voting rights of minorities. Any final plan must meet the requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act.
For the rest of the story, read this week’s Spartanburg County News.
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