In a recent decision, a panel of federal district court judges in South Carolina has granted a request from Republican legislative leaders, allowing the use of a racially gerrymandered map for the upcoming 2024 elections in Congressional District 1. The judges ruled that implementing last-minute changes to the district lines and election calendar would lead to confusion and disorder among voters.

The South Carolina Republican lawmakers had requested the court to reinstate the lines drawn by GOP state legislators following the 2020 Census, while awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court on the validity of the map. Their argument was based on the ongoing 2024 election cycle and the fact that several candidates have already filed to run in the primaries and started campaigning.

The panel of judges, in a five-page decision, acknowledged that they had previously deemed the district as unlawful under the 14th Amendment due to racial gerrymandering. However, with the rapidly approaching primary election procedures and the pending Supreme Court appeal, they concluded that it would be impractical to adopt a remedial plan before the April 27 deadline for military and overseas ballots to be mailed. The statewide primary elections in South Carolina are scheduled for June 11.

Critics, including Leah Aden, senior counsel for the Legal Defense Fund, expressed disappointment, stating that conducting another election under an infirm map would delay justice for the plaintiffs who have been fighting for their rights. The GOP lawmakers initially requested relief from the district court on March 7 and sought emergency intervention from the Supreme Court on March 18 after the panel had not yet ruled. The Supreme Court's decision on whether to intervene is still pending.

The GOP-crafted congressional voting map was challenged by the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and a voter during the 2021 redistricting cycle. South Carolina Republicans justified the construction of the district as an effort to strengthen the Republican tilt. Republican Representative Nancy Mace narrowly won the seat in 2020 but secured reelection comfortably in the 2022 midterms after the implementation of the new district lines.

Back in January 2023, the three-judge panel declared that the state lawmakers had racially gerrymandered Congressional District 1 with discriminatory intent. They blocked the state from conducting elections in Mace's district until a constitutionally valid plan was approved and gave the GOP-led legislature a deadline of 30 days after the Supreme Court's ruling to submit new boundaries. Subsequently, the court amended its previous order to prevent elections from being held using the GOP-drawn lines for Congressional District 1 after the 2024 election cycle.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in October regarding the alleged racial bias in the redrawing of Congressional District 1. Neither the GOP legislative leaders nor the NAACP had received a decision from the justices by the January 1 deadline. While the timing of the Supreme Court's ruling remains uncertain, during the fall arguments, a majority of the court seemed skeptical of the lower court's decision.

The impact of the district court panel's ruling to allow the racially gerrymandered map for the 2024 elections in Congressional District 1 raises concerns about fair representation and equal voting rights in South Carolina. Advocates for voting rights will continue to monitor developments in this ongoing legal battle.