Redistricting update from the State House (video)

Today, the House began floor debate on H. 5683 (commonly referred to as “redistricting”).

A few things to consider:

* This process historically has happened every 10 years after we receive the latest census
* This process is VERY laborous and usually takes several months or more than a year
* Adopting amendments is very difficult because of the impact and restrictions in place when it comes to redistricting

You can read some background about how/why we are considering this process from a previous NathansNews post.

You can also find maps, information, etc by clicking on the REDISTRICTING section of the State House website.

Bottom line: I can’t support the proposed map. Many reasons – most especially because my constituents (“Hard Republicans”, “Weak Republicans”, “Swing”, “Weak Democrats”, “Hard Democrats”) overwhelmingly tell me “no”. If those terms I listed are new to you, they are how voter lists are sorted by parties and – in simple terms – are determined by the number of primaries someone has voted in the past few cycles. We often hear of “4 of 4” (that means the person has voted in 4 of the last 4 primaries). So that means someone who has voted in 4 of the last 4 Republican primaries would be a “Hard Republican” and someone who voted in 4 of the last 4 Democratic primaries would be a “Hard Democrat”.

What you may find surprising is that almost 70%+ of “Hard Republicans” have told me “vote no”. Not surprisingly, 100% of the other individuals have said “vote no”. In layman’s terms, our community doesn’t like what’s going on.

I’m not sure if the votes are there to pass the proposed map, much less approve any amendments; but what I do know is that the proposed map does not make sense for our community (and others).

To be brief, my amendment would keep our community (House District 71) in the same congressional district (the 2nd) as other members of our community (House District 85). Irmo (Dutch Fork) and Chapin (Ballentine) are the same community. We go to church together, our kids are in the same school district, we use the same parks, we eat at the same restraurants, etc.

The proposed map (sent to us from Washington and drawn from someone from New York) has our communities split. One staying in the 2nd and the other (the area I represent) moving to the 3rd Congressional District which runs up the western side of the state and goes up to Oconee and Anderson counties.

I could write more but to save time, my amendment also keeps Richland County in 2 Congressional Districts (not ideal, but that’s how we currently are before any of this started) instead of THREE congressional districts (as shown in the map we’ve been given).

Debate will continue in the House next week and if a plan passes, will move to the Senate for their consideration. This process is being rushed and presented “mid-cycle” and leads to many more questions than answers; but here we are.

My job is to serve and represent Irmo, Dutch Fork, Chapin, and Ballentine. I thank you for all the feedback you’ve given and should continue to give during the debate! Keep it coming (NathanBallentine@schouse.gov, please put the word CONSTITUENT in the subject line)!

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