By VICKI BROWN
vbrown@lowcountry.com
Reapportion and redistricting for voting in Colleton County’s east and west districts has been completed.
Colleton County Council, following the requirements of the laws of the State of South Carolina and the United States Voting Rights Act of 1965, is required to enact and adopt proportioned electoral districts within Colleton County.
The county now has available data from the 2020 Census and has council has adopted a new redistricting/reapportionment plan. The first reading of an ordinance to adopt this new plan was approved by county council unanimously: that plan reapportions Colleton County’s east and west districts.
With one approval vote under their belt, council still must hold a public hearing on the issue.
So far, several public hearings will be held throughout the county, however there is one meeting with concrete dates and times, as of press deadline: Colleton County Council will conduct a Public Hearing on January 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the Colleton Civic Center Auditorium, located at 494 Hampton Street in Walterboro.
Due to Covid-19 precautions, masks must be worn and social distancing must be observed in the meeting.
The public is encouraged to review the proposed map prior to the public hearing. The proposed map will be located for viewing throughout the County at www.colletoncounty.org,
Across the state, activists from minority communities have complained about the redistricting and also maintained that the lack of an independent redistricting commission and under-the-table deals have diluted the minority vote.
According to news sources, this is the first time in over 50 years that South Carolina's new voting lines have had no federal overseer, leaving many communities worried about protecting their rights.
According to Angela Upchurch, director for Board of Voter Registration & Elections, the new redistricting areas are not alarming and most of the lines stayed relatively the same.
The public is urged to attend the meeting on January 26 so that all questions may be answered regarding redistricting lines.
