ACLU-SC denounces plan to further rig election maps for partisan gain

COLUMBIA – The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina opposes efforts to re-draw the state’s Congressional district maps at mid-decade.

“In a representative democracy, voters choose their elected officials, not the other way around,” said Jace Woodrum, Executive Director of the ACLU of South Carolina. “Rigging electoral maps is wrong, no matter which party does it. South Carolina lawmakers who choose to participate in this cynical race to the bottom are only demonstrating their fear of and contempt for the voters.”

“We already live under gerrymandered maps, and we are seeing the effects. More extreme redistricting will yield more extreme politics,” he continued. “When politicians rig the maps so that they only have to appeal to their party’s primary voters, they pursue policies that are wildly out of step with the public’s wishes. If you’re wondering why our legislature is letting our roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals crumble while they obsess over taking rights away from women, trans people, and immigrants, extreme partisan gerrymandering is part of the explanation.”

South Carolina lawmakers have the power to re-draw Congressional district maps as well as their own state legislative districts. Ordinarily, they re-draw these maps every 10 years based on Census data after taking public input and holding public hearings. This week, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais, South Carolina lawmakers are rushing to re-draw Congressional district maps at mid-decade, not based on new census data but at the urging of President Donald Trump.

The ACLU of South Carolina has taken state lawmakers to court multiple times over their open pattern of gerrymandering in the First Congressional District. Some proponents of re-districting today claim they would like to “un-gerrymander” the Sixth Congressional District, but they are faced with their colleagues’ sworn statements in court.

In the U.S. Supreme Court case Alexander v. South Carolina NAACP, lawmakers testified under oath that they did not use race when drawing the 2022 Congressional district map. Instead, they insisted that they sought an advantage for their party via partisan gerrymandering. Now, some have openly fantasized about securing an even stronger partisan advantage with new maps.

This week’s rush to further rig election maps was a long time coming. In the ACLU-SC's case League of Women Voters of South Carolina v. Alexander, where the South Carolina Supreme Court ultimately gave the green light to partisan gerrymandering in 2025, Chief Justice John Kittredge warned the public about states entering a race to the bottom. In a concurrence, Kittredge referred to the ongoing effort by majority parties in states including Texas and California to redistrict and secure greater partisan advantages. He wrote:

“[W]e are seeing — and will continue to see — state legislatures race to further minimize and perhaps erase the representation of the state's minority political party in Congress. These results may, indeed, be in line with each respective state's constitution and laws, but they collectively have the effect of diminishing our constitutional republic as a whole. This is a troubling prospect for those who adhere to our nation's founding principle that the People are sovereign."

The ACLU of South Carolina still believes that the people are sovereign. Lawmakers may try to hide from democracy, but they cannot hide forever.

While the ACLU of South Carolina considers what steps it can take to safeguard democracy in light of the current gerrymandering effort, it urges South Carolina voters to do their part by checking their voter registration and making a plan to vote, both in the June 9 primary and in the November general election.

To check your voter registration status and polling location, visit scvotes.gov. If you experience problems or intimidation while voting, call the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).

South Carolinians can also write to their state legislators and urge them to reject any effort to redraw district maps without a fair and transparent process. The ACLU of South Carolina has a form to connect voters with their lawmakers at aclusc.org/rigged