The proposed new seats.
Update September 1: The Department of Justice has 60 days to respond to the plan submitted to create a 7th Congressional district in South Carolina. The plan has also been sent to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and it is only necessary to gain approval from one these agencies.
For more information on this ongoing story, read this article from the Sun News.
Update August 5: With the ink barely dry on Haley's signature and the the proposal still waiting on Department of Justice approval, Thad Viers has announced his running for the new 7th seat.
The Sun News has more details. Read them here.
Update August 2:
Update July 30: Nikki Haley will be signing her approval of the new 7th district plan in Myrtle Beach on Monday, August 1st at 10:00 a.m. at Celebrity Square at Broadway at the Beach.
Update July 26: Senate has approved the House plan with the new 7th district anchored in Horry County and covering the Pee Dee region.
This is generally considered good news for the Myrtle Beach area. All that's left is Haley's signature and a nod from the Justice Department. The State has more details.
Update July 10: The deadline looms forward for the South Carolina General Assembly to come up with an agreed proposal on the new district lines.
See the backstory in the updates below. The Sun News has a great piece today where they speak with many folks along the Grand Strand about what they think of the redistricting process. A lot of them sound hopeful and nervous- If the South Carolina House and Senate can't compromise, the district lines will be decided by federal judges.
Update June 29: Increasing the chances of federal intervention, Senate approved an amendment that would give the new 7th district to the Lowcountry.
The Georgetown Times posted a quick update today on how that proposed plan would affect Georgetown County. If the Senate and House can't agree on a plan, the redistricting job will be handed off to a panel of federal judges. Get the current details from The State.
Update June 24: The debate has waged for a few more days and the Senate is still in a gridlock over how the new seventh congressional district should be formed.
(If you're not sure what the problem is, check out the June 21 update just below.)
And the Legislature is feeling the clock as next week will be its last chance to draw a plan before the U.S. Justice Department decides for the state.
I'll point you over to The State for the rundown on the latest in this woe.
Update June 21: While the plan for the S.C. House for the state's new seventh congressional district (pictured at the top) has seen large acceptance, the S.C. Senate's plans are ruffling more feathers.
You can see the two proposed plans to the right (click them for more detail) but, in a nutshell, while the House plan groups large geographic areas the Senate's two proposal carve more intricate jigsaw like chunks of the state — and those pieces often split historically cohesive areas, like Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach.
Many Myrtle Beach area politicos and business leaders took a trip to Columbia yesterday that was largely organized by the Myrtle Beach Tea Party to voice their opinion on the proposed districts. It sounds as though the Senate will rework their ideas, and to guess, I'ld say to likely to better match watch the House has proposed.
For a rundown on the latest I'll point you to The State's report.
First reporting June 12: I know, I know, redistricting is about as fun as counting beans.
But if you do understand the significance of how political representation lines are drawn (and Democrat vs. Republican "safe" seats are built), you'll want to take a read of Statehouse Report's solid overview of the picture emerging in South Carolina.
(Incase you missed it, South Carolina's population growth is resulting in the addition of a 7th seat, and one that will shatter the formula for representation along the coast — and quite possibly freshman Representative Tim Scott's (R) chances for reelection.)
Take a read of the report on what's up and what the concerns are over here.
From the sounds of it, the deal's already been struck.
