Voters in Jasper County filed suit on June 15, 2014 in federal court seeking an injunction against a malapportioned districting plan for the Jasper County School District. The populations of the 9 single-member districts in Jasper County varied vastly, with large deviations from the ideal population size of 2,607 for each district.
Despite the South Carolina Legislature having adequate opportunity to fix the district plan, they failed to do so. The plaintiffs asked the federal court to implement a remedial plan that complies with “one person, one vote” so that they and all voters in Jasper County would have an equal vote in the 2014 election.
Why this case?
The malapportioned districts in Jasper County violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Constitution guarantees that each person should have equal protection under the law, meaning that each person's vote should carry roughly equal weight. In districts with vastly different population sizes, votes in districts with higher populations are diluted, carrying less power. In Jasper County, and in other gerrymandered districts, manipulation of electoral district lines undermines voters’ ability to have equal representation in the electoral process.
The latest
The U.S. District Court found that the existing districts were unconstitutional. Judge Richard Gergel cancelled the November elections and gave the legislature until March 1, 2015, to redraw the districts. The legislature failed at this task.
On April 30, 2015, Judge Gergel issued an order which gave the voters of Jasper County the opportunity to elect a School Board. The court also mandated all districts be redrawn, resulting in 9 new electoral districts which were approved by the Plaintiffs. The new election took place Fall of 2015, as determined in the order of the court.
