The South Carolina Senate abruptly adjourned on Tuesday without taking up a new congressional map that aimed to eliminate the state’s lone majority Black district and cement an entirely Republican delegation, according to the New York Times.
By refusing to act, lawmakers defied pressure from President Trump and national conservatives to wade into the country’s redistricting wars before the November elections.
The State Senate failed to pass a motion to stop debate on the map, according to the New York Times, signaling that with early voting already underway on Tuesday, there was no longer enough support among Republicans to push through new district lines before the state’s June 9 primary. Instead, the Senate agreed to adjourn, effectively punting votes on a new map until after the primary.
The vote ensures that for now, South Carolina will remain among the outliers in the South. Other Republican-led states have raced to respond to the Supreme Court’s weakening of the Voting Rights Act by diluting districts where a majority of Black voters have repeatedly elected Democrats.
But in South Carolina, the prospect of throwing out thousands of ballots — nearly 45,000 had been cast by 3 p.m. Tuesday during the first day of early voting — was enough to prevent enough Republican support for new district lines.
South Carolina is likely to return to the debate for future elections. Leaders in Georgia and Mississippi, where primaries have already been held, have signaled that they want to redraw their own district lines in time for the 2028 elections.
