The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a South Carolina congressional map accused of racial gerrymandering can stand, reversing a district court that struck down the lines for Republican Rep. Nancy Mace‘s district.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the 6-3 decision in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, finding that South Carolina’s Congressional District 1 did not violate the Constitution when the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature enacted the map to ensure that the district remained safe for Republicans.
Alito wrote that the high court has navigated the tension that results when there is a high correlation between race and partisan preference “by endorsing two related propositions.”
First, he wrote that the party challenging the constitutionality of the map must “disentangle race and politics if it wishes to prove that the legislature was motivated by race as opposed to partisanship.” He added that “we stand with a presumption that the legislature acted in good faith.
In January, federal judges ordered South Carolina lawmakers to redraw the congressional map, ruling the coastal 1st District was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that diminished black voters’ influence under the Constitution’s 14th and 15th amendments.
Justice Elena Kagan dissented from the majority, saying, “What a message to send to state legislators and map makers about racial gerrymandering.”
“Go right ahead, this Court says to States today. Go ahead, though you have no recognized justification for using race, such as to comply with statutes ensuring equal voting rights. Go ahead, though you are (at best) using race as a short-cut to bring about partisan gains—to elect more Republicans in one case, more Democrats in another,” Kagan added.
The Supreme Court held arguments in the case on Oct. 11 but held out on a decision.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The delay prompted the federal district court that ruled the Charleston-area district was racially gerrymandered to order that very map to be used in the 2024 election.
The lower court order saved Mace from heading into the November election with an alternative map that may have been more favorable to Democrats.