The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether South Carolina Republican lawmakers violated the rights of Black voters by unconstitutionally “exiling” them from the 1st congressional district, currently held by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Charleston.
The case involves state Republican lawmakers challenging a lower court decision, which found that the state’s 1st Congressional District was an unlawful racial gerrymander.
A three-judge panel in January found that South Carolina’s reapportionment mapmaker tried to keep the African American population below a certain target in the district, treating Charleston County “in a fundamentally different way than the rest of the state,” according to The Washington Post.
The lower court panel wrote in a Jan. 6 ruling: “The strategies he employed ultimately exiled over 30,000 African American citizens from their previous district and created a stark racial gerrymander of Charleston County and the City of Charleston.”
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision could determine whether a different congressional map will be put in place in 2024 for voters in Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Jasper counties.
In other headlines:
S.C. teachers qualify for 6 weeks of paid parental leave. A bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Henry McMaster makes South Carolina the first state in the Southeast to offer teachers parental leave without requiring them to burn vacation or sick days or simply go without a paycheck. It takes effect June 26.
Charleston’s The Grocery owners to open Mount Pleasant concept. James Beard Award-nominated chef Kevin Johnson and his wife, Susan, who opened The Grocery in downtown Charleston in 2011, will open a second concept this summer at The Bend in Mount Pleasant called Lola Rose.
New approach at treating opioid in children shortens their time in MUSC. The Eat, Sleep, Console approach for Newborn Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome reduced the hospital stays for affected babies from just over two weeks to one, according to a study published April 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Isle of Palms to host 1st-ever hurricane expo. The Isle of Palms is hosting its first hurricane expo Tuesday to help residents prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.
Charleston police say GPS ankle monitor program could expand. Charleston Police Department’s electronic monitoring program for violent offenders rolled out eight months ago, and leaders are saying they’ve seen success in a variety of ways.
British cruise stopping in Charleston. British-owned Marella Cruises is expected to swing by Union Pier Terminal May 20 during its first-ever voyage from the U.S.
- To get dozens of South Carolina news stories every business day, contact the folks at SC Clips.
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