b'loserepresentationattheStatehouseasaresultpreclearedanyattempttochangeanyvoting ofuncheckedgerrymanderingbytheRepublicanqualificationorprerequisitetovoting,orstandard, majority. practice,orprocedurewithrespecttovotingin anycoveredjurisdiction.Thispreclearancewas Growth and Decline established under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in In2020,SouthCarolinaspopulationstoodat5.1which 16 states were required to submit redistricting million, a growth of approximately 500,000. However,planstotheUSDepartmentofJusticefor according to an article in the Times and Democrat,preclearance. SC was one of the 16 states. The map the population decreased in 24 mostly rural counties,for the SC House of Representatives was particularly egregiousandfoundtobehighlygerrymandered toprotectRepublicanincumbentsbyanumberof independent evaluators. Unfortunately, the lack of preclearance by the Justice Department will most likely result in more gerrymandering of Republican majority districts and a general loss of rural and African-American legislators in the SC legislature. Rep. Wendy BrawleyUnfortunately,thelackofpreclearancebythe JusticeDepartmentwillmostlikelyresultinmore gerrymanderingofRepublicanmajoritydistricts andagenerallossofruralandAfrican-American legislators in the SC legislature, predicts Brawley. likeOrangeburgCountywherethepopulationBrawley suggested that the General Assembly should dropped by 8.9%. Allendale experienced a staggeringhaveadoptedanon-partisanCommissiontoassist 22.8%decline,andBambergCountyspopulationintheredistrictingprocessasasolutiontoprevent nowstandsat13,311,a16.7%declinefromtheredistricting in a partisan way. Even though that will 15,987 who resided there in 2010.notoccurafterthisdecennialCensus,foryearsthe Topaintamorevividpicture,theAssociatedNAACPhasbeenheavilyinvolvedinmonitoring Pressnotedthatbecauseeachdistrictmusthavetheredistrictingprocessvoicingtheirconcerns, approximatelythesamenumberofpeople,thereadvocatingforchange,andencouragingcitizensto must be about 111,000 people in each of the statesget involved too. 46 Senate districts. Currently only 14 of the states 46countieshavethatmanycitizens,writesJeffreyAdvocacy Groups Weigh InCollinsinthearticle,RuralDistrictsWorryBrendaMurphy,presidentoftheSCState Redistricting Will Curb Their Power. Conference of the NAACP, says this is the first time branchesthroughoutthestateareinvolvedinthe Tofurtherexacerbatetheredistrictingconcern,mapping process. Members are voicing their concerns Brawley notes that a US Supreme Court ruling nowabout the mapping process. eliminatestheneedforpreclearancebytheU.S.NAACPBranchPresidentsinlocalcommunities DepartmentofJustice.Thedepartmentpreviouslyhavebeenengaged,andattendinghearingsfor IMARA13'