Single-member districts with ±2% leeway, based on good-government standards

(Total population = 4,012,012)

(6 districts -- ideal population = 668,668.7)

#	DISTRICT LOCATION	SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHY	TOTAL POPULATION	DEVIATION FROM AVERAGE POPULATION	PERCENT BLACK	VOTING AGE PERCENT NON - HISPANIC BLACK
1.	Southwestern	Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Edgefield, Greenwood, Lexington, McCormick, & Saluda counties	670,478	+0.27%	21.0%	19.4%
2.	Western	Greenville, Laurens, Newberry, Oconee, & Pickens counties	662,263	-0.96%	16.9%	15.5%
3.	Northern	Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Spartanburg, Union, & York counties	672,343	+0.55%	23.9%	22.2%
4.	Columbia	Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Hampton, Jasper, Lee, Orangeburg, Richland, & Sumter counties	678,122	+1.41%	49.6%	46.7%
5.	Coastal Plain	Beaufort, Berkeley, Colleton, Darlington, Dorchester, Florence, Marion, & Williamsburg counties	664,103	-0.68%	34.3%	31.7%
6.	Eastern	Charleston, Chesterfield, Dillon, Georgetown, Horry, & Marlboro counties	664,703	-0.59%	30.2%	26.7%
#	DISTRICT LOCATION	SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHY	TOTAL POPULATION	DEVIATION FROM AVERAGE POPULATION	PERCENT BLACK	VOTING AGE PERCENT NON - HISPANIC BLACK

Multi-member Congressional districts for preference voting

The map above shows South Carolina divided into six single-member districts, each electing one member of Congress by plurality vote.

This is only one approach.

If larger multi-member districts are employed, metropolitan areas can be better accommodated (although this is not a necessary result). There are two plausible options:

• 1 district with six seats, being the entire state
• 2 districts of 3 seats each.

In a statewide six-member district, the black voting-age population of 27.0% exceeds the 14.2% threshold vote for one seat but falls short of the 28.6% threshold vote for two seats. Splitting the state into two three-member districts gives each a black population exceeding the 25% threshold vote for one seat, yielding a total of two seats.

Why no district with two or four seats?

• Two-seat districts are unlikely to produce fluid results.
• A four-seat district would necessitate a two-seat district.

Preference voting is discussed at length by the Center for Voting and Democracy.

1 multi-member district

2 multi-member districts

2 multi-member districts

DISTRICT LOCATION	INTEGRAL NUMBER OF SEATS	DISTRICT POPULATION AS RATIO OF AVERAGE SEAT POPULATION	TOTAL POPULATION	PERCENT NON - HISPANIC BLACK	VOTING AGE PERCENT NON - HISPANIC BLACK
North	3	3.0299	2,025,988	28.9%	26.6%
South	3	2.9701	1,986,024	29.8%	27.4%

Standards for drawing districts, in approximate order of application

• Population equality (±2%)
• Preserving community integrity
  • dividing as few communities as possible
  • dividing each community into as few parts as possible
  • dividing larger rather than smaller communities
• Contiguity
  • by land (minimal crossing of water)
  • by road
  • by mass transit, such as a railroad
• Compactness
  • minimal ratio of length to width of districts
• Uniting communities of interest
• Social characteristics
  • ethnicity
  • economics
  • education

Data source: U.S. Bureau of Census.