Partisanship, Race, and Public Opinion on Redistricting: The Case of South Carolina

Despite a growing national conversation about redistricting reform and an increasing number of political hobbyists making redistricting one of the most debated topics in American politics, we know surprisingly little about what citizens think about redistricting. Using original survey data on over 1,300 South Carolinians, we discover that many respondents remain agnostic or uninformed about the redistricting process. Across six models, partisanship is a key driver of South Carolinians' opinions on redistricting, with Republicans expressing more support for the current process than Democrats in this deep red state. We also discover that Black South Carolinians have distinct and generally more circumspect impressions of the redistricting process, particularly regarding descriptive representation. These findings will interest academics and practitioners who work in the areas of election science, public opinion, election law, and redistricting, and can inform our knowledge of how the public might respond to the United States Supreme Court decision in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP.