South Carolina Senate Advances GOP Redistricting Trump Wants

The legislation still requires another procedural vote Tuesday to limit debate again

In a 27-17 vote, senators tentatively approved the proposed map, putting it on a possible path to becoming law sometime after early voting begins Tuesday morning. which could allow the bill to reach the governor’s desk by the middle of the week. That timing has fueled fierce criticism from Democrats, who argue lawmakers are effectively changing election rules while voters are already casting ballots.

Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto blasted the process

“A yes vote will be to disenfranchise voters standing in line at the polls at the very time that vote will be taken,” Hutto said. The fight is not breaking neatly along party lines.

Several Republican senators have openly warned the aggressive push could backfire legally and politically

Sen. Chip Campsen, a Republican who helped draw South Carolina’s current congressional map, urged colleagues not to abandon district lines that already survived review by both state and federal courts. “Why am I convinced the state Supreme Court will strike this down? It will be the process,” Campsen said.