Rock Hill plans to delay its 2021 ward elections by about four months. What to know
Rock Hill has set a date for its delayed ward elections that were initially scheduled to take place in October.
Monday night, city council voted to postpone its Wards 4, 5 and 6 elections until Feb. 8, 2022 due to the delayed release of census data needed for redistricting. Council will need to vote on a second reading before the ordinance is official.
In June, council voted to delay the Oct. 19 ward elections until the necessary 2020 census data is released and the city is able to redraw its six voting districts, which is required every 10 years based on new U.S. Census Bureau information.
The city’s mayoral race will be held on the expected October date as the seat will not be impacted by redistricting, officials said. Mayor John Gettys and York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey, who ran against each other for the mayoral seat in 2017, have filed to run again. Rock Hill business owner Ishmael Lowery has also filed to run.
Delays related to COVID slowed the census bureau’s original data delivery plan and municipalities did not expect to receive the necessary information until Sept. 30, according to the 2020 census timeline. Now, the census will provide the data needed to begin redistricting on Thursday, according to an updated timeline.
The data will be in a format that requires additional handling and software, but the earlier release gives Rock Hill officials the ability to set the February date, which is less than four months after the original election date.
“I think it’s best that the public expect a certain date for their elections,” city attorney Paul Dillingham told council Monday. “There is a possibility we could have a change if we don’t get the data in time.”
Legal opinions on delayed elections
The three council members who are up for reelection recused themselves from Monday night’s vote after S.C. State Ethics Commission general counsel Courtney Laster advised last month in an informal opinion — requested by York City Councilman Jim Bradford — that a council member whose term is prolonged by a postponed election should recuse themselves from a vote on the delay.
Laster explained in the letter to Bradford that “voting to delay the election will result in your remaining on council past your currently scheduled term and, in turn, receiving additional monies for your extended service.” She encouraged Bradford to recuse himself from the council’s vote to delay its Nov. 2 elections.
“I have issue with that opinion, but out of abundance of caution, I would advise those council members to go ahead and recuse themselves,” Dillingham said.
Council members John Black, who represents Ward 4, Nikita Jackson, who represents Ward 5, and Jim Reno, who represents Ward 6, recused themselves.
Gettys, and council members Derrick Lindsay, Kathy Pender and Kevin Sutton, voted unanimously to pass first reading of the ordinance.
“I believe the actions council has taken and is taking are perfectly legal, and actually benefit both one person, one vote in the city and also protect minority rights,” Dillingham said.
Last week, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Houck said in an opinion — requested by S.C. Rep. John King — that Rock Hill is authorized to delay its October election until council is able to approve its redistricted wards “if the council finds the use of this power is reasonable and for a public purpose.” He also said the city is authorized to hold its mayoral race “separately from those of council members.”
“This office has issued several opinions concluding a municipality may change the dates of its municipal elections, and, as a result, the terms of office impacted municipal officials would necessarily be shortened or extended,” Houck wrote.
Houck explained that the S.C. General Assembly has authorized municipalities to both establish and change the dates of its elections given that the use of power is “reasonable” and the change is “for a public purpose and not for the personal benefit of the council members and the mayor.”
‘Our community is still very ignorant’
The U.S. Constitution requires voting districts to be equal in population, and with the significant amount of growth and development that has occurred in Rock Hill over the last 10 years, city officials anticipate the six wards have become imbalanced.
The city’s 2020 population estimates using building permits show Wards 4, 5 and 6 have each grown to include an additional 1,500-plus residents, officials said.
Rock Hill’s wards must also be in compliance with the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which ensures redistricting plans do not discriminate on the basis of race, color or membership in a protected language minority group.
Based on census estimates, Rock Hill’s population, which is about 75,000 people, is made up of about 55% whites, 39% Blacks and 7% Hispanic or Latino.
Although Lindsay, along with deputy city manger Steven Gibson, held three public sessions over the summer to educate Rock Hill residents on the redistricting process, Rock Hill NAACP President Norma Gray told council Monday night she’s worried a good portion of the city’s resident still don’t understand what redistricting entails.
“My concern is ... our community is still very ignorant in terms of the importance of what’s about to happen,” Gray said.
She asked council to consider forming a task force to give residents more of a say in how the city’s lines are redrawn.
“I need the African-American community to be educated on what this is and I think I can help do that,” she said. “I don’t think that this calendar of what you propose to do to give the community an input is enough.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 9:28 AM.
