COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina House of Representatives has given key approval to a plan to redraw voting boundaries for state house districts ahead of next year's election.
The House voted 96-14 Thursday in favor of the measure on a second reading. A third reading is required for final passage but that's usually a formality. That vote will take place Monday.
The decision moves forward a plan to have new maps for South Carolina's 124 state house districts. By law, every state must take into account population changes following the U.S. Census when it's conducted every 10 years.
But the process means district lines will shift and there's usually always controversy that the lines will be drawn to favor the political party in power, making it easier for their members to gain reelection.
The biggest complaint about lines for the state house districts this time concerned the changes for Orangeburg County. The plan splits the county into four districts that stem from surrounding counties. State Representative Jerry Govan, a Democrat from Orangeburg, claimed that the plan takes representation away from the people of Orangeburg by breaking up traditionally minority areas that lean toward the Democrats. He also worried it would lessen the area's political influence and affect funding.
During debate Thursday, there was a resolution to have different lines but it was quickly voted down.
The Chair of the House Redistricting Committee, Representative Jay Jordan, a Republican from Florence, said critics' claims were unfounded and that the lines were drawn based on population shifts and followed the law.
The legislature must still consider changes to the lines for state senate districts and U.S. House districts.