What to know about redistricting in South Carolina

What is redistricting?
A process South Carolina lawmakers (all 124 House and 46 Senate members) undertake every 10 years following the U.S. Census to redraw district maps for state House and Senate seats, as well as the seven U.S. congressional districts. The process is intensive, with experts and sophisticated software as well as dozens of public hearings.
What maps are being redrawn?
Republican lawmakers received a map from the Republican Redistricting Trust in Washington, D.C., that redraws all seven U.S. congressional districts as Republican. Currently six of the seven congressional districts (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 7^th) are solid Republican districts. The 6^th is the single solid Democratic district. The 1^st was briefly a swing district until the 2021 redistricting.
The new map, which uses 2020 Census data as well as previous statewide election results, does not account for growth in the state over the past six years.
Why now?
The push now is a result of the April 29 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais. SCOTUS ruled its congressional map, which featured a second majority-minority district, to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The legislature was then required to redraw the map and suspend the congressional primary.
The move renewed mid-decade redistricting efforts in states, including South Carolina, especially ahead of what was expected to be a bruising year for congressional Republicans in the November midterm elections.
Nearly all Statehouse Republicans are on board with the expedited redistricting process. Gov. Henry McMaster ordered lawmakers to return to Columbia for a special session, after the normal legislative year ended May 14, to pass a new congressional district map.
Why not sooner?
Previously, Statehouse leaders and the governor were not in favor of mid-decade or mid-cycle redistricting efforts underway in other states. That’s primarily because South Carolina’s congressional map was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 as a political gerrymander. That was after a lawsuit alleged the 2022 map, where Black voters were specifically moved from the 1^st District, which had become a swing district, into the 6^th congressional district, historically the only solid Democrat district. The suit focused on racial gerrymandering in the 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th districts. A lower federal court ruled it was gerrymandered, and that was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
What district am I in?
Click here to find out what your current district is and who represents you in Washington.
What district will I be in?
You can see where you are in the House approved its map here. Other maps and information can be found here.
What happens now?
The House passed its new map early in the morning on May 20, after drawn-out debate was shortened by a rules change passed by Republicans. They voted 74-37, largely along party lines, to send the bill to the Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled its only public hearing on the map for that afternoon. After more than six hours of testimony and debate, the committee passed it to the full Senate floor by a 15-7 vote.
The Senate is now taking that map up for debate starting Thursday, May 21.
How will this affect voting, if it’s passed?
You should still cast your absentee, early in-person, or Election Day primary ballot as you normally would. If a new congressional district map is passed and signed by the governor, the S.C. State Election Commission will disregard the congressional results. The rest of your ballot will be counted.
What about the congressional races?
If the current map bill, H. 5683, is passed then congressional candidates for the seven districts will need to file between June 1 and June 5. The new primary Election Day would be August 18 and a runoff, if necessary, would be Sept. 1.
Can this be done?
There is no law saying maps can’t be redrawn between cycles. As for actually undertaking the work needed to pull it off, State Election Commission Director Conway Belangia says it will be a “monumental effort”.
How much will this cost?
Unclear. Current estimates for the State Election Commission would be around $6 million. The cost for counties, which administer elections, has yet to fully be determined. The House and Senate have each put $1 million a piece aside in the budget for potential lawsuits.
Where can I find more information?
From trusted news sources, such as S.C. Public Radio and SCETV. The South Carolina Lede podcast has done multiple in-depth episodes on the topic. This Week in South Carolina as well.
The State Election Commission website.
The Statehouse redistricting website.