Supreme Court finds no bias against Black voters in a South Carolina congressional district

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has preserved a Republican-held South Carolina congressional district, rejecting a lower-court ruling that the district discriminated against Black voters. The justices said Thursday the Republican-controlled state legislature did nothing wrong during redistricting when it strengthened Rep. Nancy Mace’s hold on the coastal district by moving 30,000 Democratic-leaning Black Charleston residents from the district. The state argued partisan politics, not race, and a population boom in coastal areas explain the map. A lower court had ordered South Carolina to redraw the district after finding it used race as a proxy for partisan affiliation. The case differed from one in Alabama, where the court ruled Republican lawmakers diluted Black voters’ political power.