Nearly every 10 years the political power lines are changed in South Carolina by redrawing district lines in the state. This process can change the political power in the State House by changing who voters can select for political office on many levels.
Sen. Luke Rankin, (R-Horry), led the first meeting yesterday of the Senate’s redistricting subcommittee.
The redrawing of district lines can split communities and how federal funding is distributed in an area and holds the key to who stays in political power.
After the new numbers are given by the Federal Census, politicians begin to redraw maps so it appears that the same number of people remain in each district based on moving populations.
This process seems simple in theory until you begin to realize that the ones redrawing the map are the same ones who are wanting to keep their power hold in their political office, such as Sen. Luke Rankin, who stated, “Politics are what we are here about and it’s not a process devoid of politics. We got to get votes. It’s a buy-in… there are winners and losers.”
Sen. Rankin stated, “We need to be representative of all people, all communities of interests taking into consideration growth in this state.” But in the end, the voices of South Carolina Citizens will be muted as the final decisions lay with the politicians.
Sen. Dick Harpootlian, (D-Richland), said, “There are people who have been here for decades who won’t give up their districts or an advantage. That’s how they got here and kept staying here for decades.”
Voters of South Carolina will be given the opportunity to voice their opinions in 10 public meetings starting next week July 27, 2021, through August 16, 2021.
Sen. Rankin stated he would like this process to be transparent and would like to hear from voters concerning their communities and changes that the people would like to have done.
But Sen. Rankin is considered one of the States Political Powerhouses that has in recent years come under major question. Some could say his own statement of “We got to get the votes.” shows his will to stay in power at any cost. We must also remember that Sen. Rankin nearly lost his position in his re-election campaign to John Gallman, but began making allegations of abuse against Gallman. Many have stated this was a dirty political move on the part of Sen. Rankin to maintain his power hold in political office.
The South Carolina House of Representatives will have its own subcommittee that meets starting next month.
PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULE
