Sumter County, open to the public, election map hearing to be held January 13, 2020

Published 11:42 am Thursday, January 9, 2020

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

An open to the public hearing is to be held January 13, 2020 at 3:00pm to determine Sumter County’s School Board election map.  The court found, following a bench trial, that the school board’s current election map violates the Voting Rights Act of 1956.  Five alternative election maps, each with 7 single member election districts in Sumter County, are being proposed.  The court must choose which should become the new county election map for future elections in order to afford black voters proportional representation on the School Board.

Due to the importance of this matter, an open to the public hearing will be held January 13, 2020 at 3:00pm.  The court will welcome additional information on viability of each proposed map as well as reasons for and against rescheduling the School Board election from May to November.   The court expect to promptly enter a written decision after the hearing on January 13th.