Supreme Court dockets and rulings

Supreme Court Upholds GOP-Drawn South Carolina Map in 6-3 Decision on Racial Gerrymandering

May 23, 2024, 02:25 PM

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a GOP-drawn congressional map for South Carolina in the case of Alexander v. SC NAACP, reversing a lower court decision that had found the map to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. In a 6-3 decision, the conservative majority, led by Justice Samuel Alito, ruled that the map did not unlawfully consider race when redrawing the district, which had removed approximately 30,000 Black voters. All three liberal justices dissented. Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurring opinion, emphasized that federal courts should not intervene in such cases. The ruling is seen as a significant victory for South Carolina Republicans and has broader implications for future challenges to partisan and racial gerrymandering.