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McMaster calls special session
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster called a special session to begin Friday morning to redraw the state’s congressional lines after lawmakers adjourned Thursday without concluding redistricting.
“With just 12 days before early voting polls open, legislators will begin a special session”
The SC Daily Gazette said McMaster ordered the session with “just 12 days before early voting polls open,” and it set a self-imposed deadline of May 26 for passing a new map.
McMaster’s executive order cited that the General Assembly’s debate on congressional districts “was not concluded when the General Assembly adjourned _sine die_,” and the order said an issue of public importance “should be not only debated but also decided by the People’s representatives.”
The Hill reported that the regular session adjourns at 5 p.m. on Thursday, and it described the special session as a way Republicans could bypass the two-thirds vote required for the rejected sine die agreement and pass a new map with a simple majority.
Democracy Docket added that McMaster’s move reversed his earlier stance at the beginning of the month, when his office said he wouldn’t call a special redistricting session amid pressure from President Donald Trump.
Quotes, objections, and pressure
Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said McMaster’s shift was a “complete 180 on this issue,” telling reporters after the session adjourned Thursday that “If you’re going to flip-flop on something like that, it would have been a whole lot better for everybody if you’d have just done it a few months ago.”
In a floor speech, Massey also argued that “Republicans are stronger when the Democrat Party is vibrant and viable,” and NBC News said five Republican senators denied their party the two-thirds support needed to pass the measure this week.
The Hill reported that Trump urged South Carolina Republicans on Truth Social to “Move the U.S. House Primaries to August, leave the rest on the same schedule. Everything will be fine. GET IT DONE!”
Democracy Docket described Democratic and local criticism of the compressed timeline, quoting Charleston Mayor William Cogswell and Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie saying, “Redrawing congressional maps on a compressed timeline is not the deliberate, principled process South Carolinians deserve.”
Democracy Docket also quoted Sen. Chip Campsen warning that the proposed timeline makes it “almost impossible for us to pull this off,” while it said the House is considering decoupling the June 9 congressional primary from other races and pushing it to August.
What’s at stake next
The SC Daily Gazette said the House GOP’s goal is to pass a redistricting bill this Tuesday, with legislators drafting proposed changes using access to the House “map room” over the weekend.
“More than 9,000 absentee ballots have already been sent out to military and overseas voters; 549 of those ballots have been returned.”
It also said the “best scenario” timeline would give the Senate one week before early voting to pass a bill that would nullify part of voters’ ballots, while keeping other primaries—including statewide offices, state House seats and the U.S. Senate—on schedule for June 9 with runoffs June 23.
Democracy Docket warned that absentee voting for the state’s June 9 primary election is already underway, saying “More than 9,000 absentee ballots have already been sent out to military and overseas voters; 549 of those ballots have been returned.”
NBC News said the special session would require simple majority support in both chambers to pass a new map, and it described the expected outcome as eliminating the state’s only majority-minority district held by Rep. James Clyburn.
The Hill reported that the proposed map targets the seat currently held by Rep. Jim Clyburn, and it quoted Clyburn saying, “We cannot let them succeed.”
