The Supreme Court upheld a pro-Republican South Carolina congressional map Thursday, rejecting the argument raised by civil rights groups that lawmakers impermissibly used race as a proxy to bolster the GOP’s chances.
But the high court also said that the civil rights groups that challenged the maps could continue to pursue one part of their claim, a move that will likely delay the battle over the districts for months.
With state election deadlines approaching, a federal court in March had already ruled that South Carolina could use the contested map in this year’s election.
The decision was 6-3 along conservative-liberal lines.
That’s true, but no matter the outcome, the total district representation should not deviate far from the state party distribution, as it does in this case.