SC Senate advances redistricting map, sets final vote for Tuesday

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina senators moved a step closer to approving a new congressional redistricting map Saturday, fast-tracking the process to pass the proposal on second reading after days of debate.

The unexpected move came late in the afternoon, as lawmakers opted to advance the bill ahead of schedule rather than continue debating through the night and holiday weekend. The decision sets up a final vote early next week, with Tuesday’s third reading expected to be the decisive stage.

Along with advancing the new map, the proposal would delay U.S. House primaries to Aug. 18. The South Carolina Election Commission estimates the delay would cost roughly $5 million to administer.

The Senate is now off until Tuesday, after initially planning to return Sunday afternoon.

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Ahead of the surprise fast-tracking of the bill, earlier in the day senators invoked cloture, limiting each lawmaker’s speaking time to one hour. Republican Sen. Larry Grooms of Berkeley County led the push to speed up the process.

“The quickest we can move forward … would be sometime Wednesday or Thursday,” Grooms said, referring to when the bill could reach the governor’s desk.

Despite the accelerated Saturday timeline, it is now clear the measure will not be finalized before early voting begins.

Shortly after invoking cloture, senators shifted course and held a second reading vote, avoiding what had been expected to be a lengthy overnight session.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey of Edgefield, who has opposed redistricting efforts, said the timing change reflects the reality that the final debate was always expected next week.

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“We knew that the earliest you were going to get to a third reading scenario was on Tuesday anyway,” Massey said. “I think more realistically, you’re looking at Wednesday … it could go longer than that.”

Massey also believes there are voting precincts included in the map that no longer exist; he attributed this to the rushed process.  

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto of Orangeburg agreed that Tuesday will be the critical battleground. He said Democrats plan to spend the coming days working to flip votes and warned the map is likely to face legal challenges if approved.

“We’ll be debating this bill until probably after midnight on Tuesday,” Hutto said. “If amendments are adopted, it’ll have to go back to the House on Wednesday. If not, it will go to the governor’s desk on Wednesday.”

If passed, the redistricting plan is expected to draw scrutiny in court, continuing a pattern seen in previous map disputes.

Lawmakers are scheduled to return to the State House at 11 a.m. Tuesday, where they expect to work late into the night leading up to the final vote.

Early voting begins Tuesday, May 26th.

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