For an thorough summary, you can click here to see what Ballotpedia says about it.
In simpler terms, I’d say it means that you may have a different Representative or Senator here in South Carolina. Or maybe a different US House member. It’s a long process that has to go through the courts once we finally approve a plan for the State. The plan must be approved (like all laws) by House, Senate, Governor.
Ten years ago, I was around when we did this the last time. I ended up “losing” some of my constituents over on Lost Creek and the Harbison area. I still stay in touch with many; but they have been represented by Rep Chris Hart since that time. When I say “lose” it means they no longer see my name on their ballots when they go to vote.
This time around, I may “lose” some more constituents because House District 71 has grown a lot in the past 10 years. Once the data comes in, other districts may have seen numbers shrink. The goal is to have each Representative serve the same amount of people across the state (as close as possible). Same with the Senate.
Currently (rough estimate), a House member represents around 35,000 individuals in SC and a Senator Represents 100,000. The math is: Take total population and divide by 124 for House. Take total population and divide by 46 for Senate.
To this day, many people don’t know who their elected officials are. If you are one of those, you can find out very quickly by going to the State House Website . Look down at the bottom of the screen (if on laptop) and type in address under FIND LEGISLATORS. (*If you are using mobile device, just go click on Find Your Legislators and input your address.)
Many folks out here also don’t know if Chip or I are their representative. Which is perfectly fine. We are deskmates and work well together and usually help whoever comes our way, regardless which district they live in. Rep Huggins represents House District 85 and we literally have streets where I represent one side and he represents the other.
You can see on the memo from House Judiciary Chairman, Chris Murphy, the House AdHoc Committee will convene soon. The Senate started their meetings earlier this month.
As we move through the process, I will keep you posted. If you have any questions, you can certainly reach out to me and I will get answers for you.
Always enjoy your updates and first time I actually understood the simple way of how the number of people you represent is done. Being a constituent prior to the 2012 census of yours, I always enjoyed your service to us. I hope that the 35,000 citizens you currently serve appreciate it as not every representative is as responsive.