The Daily Fuckup

On May 23, 2024, the Supreme Court gave South Carolina a partial win in its redistricting fight, reversing in part and remanding in part the challenge to the state’s congressional map. In Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the justices rejected the lower court’s racial-gerrymandering ruling on the First Congressional District and sent the case back for further proceedings on the remaining claims. For now, the map stays in effect. citeturn0search0

The dispute traces back to the post-2020 Census redraw of South Carolina’s districts. State lawmakers said they were pursuing traditional districting goals and political advantage, while challengers argued race played the dominant role in how District 1 was drawn. The Court’s majority said the challengers did not meet their burden to prove that race predominated over politics in the line-drawing process. On that record, the district court’s finding on racial gerrymandering could not stand. citeturn0search0

But the decision did not close the book on the case. The vote-dilution theory returned to the lower court, so the litigation was not fully over on May 23. That distinction matters: the Court removed one legal basis for blocking the map, but it did not issue a blanket final judgment on every claim tied to the districting plan. citeturn0search0turn0search2

The practical effect is straightforward. South Carolina keeps its current map while the case keeps moving. The broader fight over how courts separate race from partisanship in redistricting remains alive, and the ruling makes it harder for challengers to win on a theory that politics and race were intertwined unless they can prove race was the main driver. citeturn0search0turn0search2