By: K.J. Atwood, candidate for SC House 110 in Charleston
The title of this article may cast your mind to foreign countries famous for their corruption, like Russia or Somalia. Unfortunately, it perfectly describes what's happening in my home of South Carolina today.
Self-distancing is an exercise I've found almost universally useful: looking at an event as if I am observing it happening to someone else. What if I saw what is happening to my beloved home, happen in another country? What if I read about it in a book? What would I think?
When things are chaotic, it is helpful to take a step back, take a deep breath and try out a new perspective. Here is the story, with the names removed: A country has a winner-take-all two-party system. One of these parties has been talking about stolen elections, without having provided sufficient evidence of this, for nearly 10 years. Now, that same party is polling unfavorably, largely due to starting wars of choice, and deteriorating economic conditions. Facing a landslide election in 2026, they are now cancelling elections, after ballots have been printed and voters have given their opponents an early lead, in order to redraw the lines in their favor.
If you read that in a history book, it may feel obvious. You may wonder what kind of country could let that happen? You may even ask: Seriously, what in the Soviet Union is happening here?
What is actually happening?
Well, here is more specifically what's happening here in South Carolina today.
On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the primary legal shield against the dilution of minority voting power since 1965, creating a new reality: racial gerrymandering is permissible so long as the state labels it a "partisan advantage." South Carolina had already seen this coming; in 2024, the US Supreme Court allowed SC Republicans to redraw lines that displaced over 30,000 Black voters from a single district. That case (Alexander v. South Carolina NAACP) was the first major domino for the wave of gerrymandering we’ve seen across the US. When the Court signaled it would tolerate radical gerrymandering, it handed states a roadmap. South Carolina has both the history and the responsibility to stop its own snowball.
As absentee voting is already underway, South Carolina Republicans took the first step last Friday to cancel the state's June primary election, and host a new primary in August, to give more time to pass a new gerrymandered congressional map that would bring South Carolina's 7 congressional districts from a 6-1 republican-democratic split, to 7-0, carving out long-time Democratic congressman Jim Clyburn. If the legislature approves the measure, those ballots will be disqualified at an estimated cost of $2.5 million to taxpayers. That’s money that would be much better spent investing in our children and fixing our roads.
President Trump has reportedly had multiple calls with state legislators demanding a redraw, and conservative activist groups are openly threatening to primary any Republican who fails to help pass the map plotted for a 7-0 swing. This is a coordinated effort, directed from the top, to lock in power before the voters can be heard.
Why does this matter?
It is very important that we keep focus on what is really happening here. The political class is unfairly entrenching power for itself, to the detriment of the everyday people of South Carolina, like us.
South Carolina's current district lines were among the only maps in the country that had survived Supreme Court scrutiny: drawn, redrawn, and approved through years of litigation. Roughly 40-45% of South Carolinians vote for Democrats, and while currently only 1 out of 7 congressional seats are held by a Democrat, that discrepancy is still not enough for many politicians, they want to squeeze that representation down to 0%.
Is gerrymandering a new, unique problem to South Carolina, or to Republicans? Of course not. Democrats have drawn self-serving maps in Maryland, Illinois, and yes, even here in SC, where district lines have historically been shaped to protect incumbents on both sides of the aisle. Both parties have played this game, and it has always been wrong. We cannot re-write the laws in our history, or the laws of other states, but we are responsible for our communities, at this moment.
So, what do we do now?
There is no secret formula you are not aware of. We can fight this with our voice, in the courtroom, and at the ballot box. You can run for office, or support someone who is. Our democracy still hinges on voting. If we lose hope and do not fight to make our voices heard, the political class with its insatiable thirst for power, wins.
We must engage the political process where we have leverage, inform voters, and fill local seats with reasonable minds.
Our children's children will read about this moment in their history books, and it will seem much clearer to them then, than it may seem now, when peer pressure is strong and the tree demands so much more attention than the forest.
I call on our legislators to take a step back, take a deep breath, and cast a vote that supports the foundations of democracy we all cherish and depend on. If you do not, you will move us further down a very dangerous road.
Disclosure: I am K.J. Atwood, candidate for SC House 110 in Charleston. Tom Hartnett, I plan to take your job either way come November, but in the meantime, please do the right thing.
-
This commentary represents the opinion of the writer, but not necessarily the opinion of Holy City Sinner. If you'd like to submit your own opinion piece for publishing consideration, e-mail christian@holycitysinner.com.