COLUMBIA, S.C. — A portion of South Carolina’s congressional map unconstitutionally discriminates against Black voters and must be redrawn, a three-judge panel ruled Friday.
A panel of three U.S. District judges ruled the coastal 1st District, represented by Republican Nancy Mace, is an unlawful racial gerrymander that discriminates against Black voters in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
The court’s decision comes following a lawsuit the South Carolina NAACP filed last year asserting the 1st, 2nd and 5th congressional districts were racial gerrymanders drawn with discriminatory intent to dilute the voting strength of Black South Carolinians. A bench trial over the map was held late last year in Charleston federal court.
