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Facing criticism from Black leaders, two members of the committee tasked with shaping Horry County鈥檚 new county council and school board districts insist they will seek to redraw the proposed lines to avoid diluting Black voting strength in the Myrtle Beach area.

Horry County Councilman Orton Bellamy and Doris Potter-Hickman, the only two Black members on the committee, stressed that the proposed map has not been approved and they are discussing changes to the draft released last month.

鈥淎ny time there鈥檚 a dilution with any particular group 鈥� there is a concern,鈥� Potter-Hickman said. 鈥淎nd especially [with] minorities, because we鈥檝e been fighting the fight for years. But this is not final.鈥�

Redistricting is conducted after each U.S. Census to account for population changes in the county. The process requires taking the county鈥檚 population (351,029 people) and dividing it by the number of council/school board seats (11). Officials then seek to draw districts that each have about the same number of people, ideally within 2% of that target.

But there are multiple considerations. County officials don鈥檛 want to draw a district with two council members or one without an incumbent. Legally, they cannot create districts that discriminate based on race, and they also must draw districts that are contiguous.

Maintaining historic communities, compactness and preserving political subdivisions are also factors in the process.

The central criticism from the Grand Strand鈥檚 Black leaders is that the proposed map would divide voters in Myrtle Beach鈥檚 historically Black neighborhoods among multiple districts, thus diluting their voting power.

Under the current map, the neighborhoods in question all lie in District 3, which is 18% Black. That figure would drop to 9% in the district if the proposed map is approved. Some Black residents would be shifted into neighboring districts 2 and 4, but those districts wouldn鈥檛 have the percentage of Black residents that District 3 has today. District 2 would be 11% Black and District 4 would be at 8%.

鈥淚t certainly has a red flag to me,鈥� Myrtle Beach NAACP President Mickey James said of the draft map. 鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 very discriminatory 鈥� and I鈥檓 going to challenge that.鈥�

Myrtle Beach City Councilman Mike Chestnut agreed. He noted that the Pine Island, Canal Street and Racepath areas, among others, would be split between three districts if the proposed map is approved.

鈥淲e鈥檇 love to see them stay in one particular district,鈥� Chestnut said.

Some leaders have pointed out that District 3 elected a Black representative to county council in a 2015 special election (former councilman Jimmy Washington). They don鈥檛 see that scenario as a possibility under the proposed map.

鈥淭he way we see it,鈥� James said, 鈥渋t don鈥檛 look too good right now for minorities getting elected.鈥�

During a public hearing Wednesday, James and Cedric Blain-Spain of the Horry County Democratic Party blasted the new district lines.

鈥淲e鈥檙e extremely concerned about the African-American vote in the Myrtle Beach area that鈥檚 proposed to be split between districts 2 and 3,鈥� Blain-Spain said, questioning whether the full redistricting committee was involved in preparing the draft map. 鈥淚鈥檓 asking that this committee go back to the drawing board [and] draw their districts without cracking and packing 鈥� These maps look like a little kid in preschool drew these maps and let paint just run down all over the place.鈥�

After the meeting, Potter-Hickman said she had presented county officials with a different map, one that uses major roads and waterways as dividing lines. She said she would discuss the concerns about District 3 with the committee and wants to ensure that Black candidates are not placed at a competitive disadvantage based on the way the districts are drawn.

鈥淲e鈥檙e working on that,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut there is no expectation of a total Black district. That鈥檚 not what anybody is looking for.鈥�

Bellamy also said the criticisms over District 3 would be addressed. He added that he wants to avoid forcing many voters to switch districts.

鈥淲e want to make sure that the community stays intact,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the most important thing. And have it more simplified 鈥� if you live in that district and vote in that district historically, we want to keep you within those districts.鈥�

Some residents questioned who drew the proposed map. County officials said county staff worked with committee members to come up with the lines using the criteria that county leaders approved.

County attorney Arrigo Carotti told the committee that accounting for the county鈥檚 surging population, which rose by more than 30% over the last decade, is not easy.

鈥淭he most important factor that presents the greatest challenge to the committee in redistricting is the growth in population and the location of where people have moved to,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are compelled to make sure that population from one district to another does not exceed 4% deviation and we have set a goal at half of that 鈥� 2%. That鈥檚 a yeoman鈥檚 challenge.鈥�

However, Carotti said the proposed map meets that goal.

This year, the target number of residents in each district is 31,911. Based on the county鈥檚 calculations, the district that will require the most significant change is District 4, which includes the growing Burgess community and stretches into The Market Common. Today, that district has 9,519 more residents than the target number.聽

But redistricting is often compared to a balloon or pillow: push some residents into one district and others pop into a different one.聽

鈥淭here is not going to be a perfect map,鈥� Carotti said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to be able to draw perfect lines. But all these considerations have taken place.鈥�

When the committee initially reviewed the latest population data, members said the districts likely wouldn鈥檛 need to change much. They pointed out that the last redistricting was a milestone for the county: the process generated no legal challenges and no elections were overturned based on the way the voting precincts were drawn.

But when the new maps were unveiled last month, they showed some major changes, particularly with District 3.

That district is currently split between Carolina Forest and Myrtle Beach. But in an effort to pack most of Carolina Forest into a single district, the proposed map moves many of The Forest鈥檚 voters into District 3. The changes also call for placing much of the growing S.C. 90 corridor into District 10 and shifting the southern side of the busy U.S. 501 corridor into District 8.

So why draw the maps that way? County officials have said they wanted to include as much of Carolina Forest in a single district as possible.

The growing suburb is now spread among four council districts (2, 3, 8 and 10), but the idea behind the draft map was that the community would be better served by being the focus of a single council and school board member rather than representing a portion of four districts.

Yet that proposal has sparked criticism from some Carolina Forest residents.

鈥淲e were totally surprised by the reduction of Horry County councilmen from four to one,鈥� said Carole vanSickler, president of the Carolina Forest Civic Association. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a 75% reduction of Horry County Council representation in Carolina Forest.鈥�

During and after Wednesday鈥檚 hearing, committee members emphasized that there would be additional opportunities for the public to provide input on the map. They said future meetings would take place after business hours (Wednesday鈥檚 hearing was at 4 p.m.) to be more accessible.聽

鈥淚t behooves us to find ways to make sure that our citizens will have an opportunity to come and be a part of the redistricting process,鈥� Potter-Hickman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 crucial. 鈥� We鈥檙e talking about making decisions for the next 10 years.鈥�

Apart from speaking at public meetings, residents can also submit comments about the proposed map via email to countycouncil@horrycounty.org.

Horry County Councilman Tyler Servant, who chairs the redistricting committee, wouldn't say if the comments at the hearing had made him rethink the district lines, but he praised the speakers and said nothing has been decided.

鈥淲e are nowhere near having a completed map,鈥� he said.

Once the committee irons out the details, the maps could go the full council for a vote by Jan. 18 with final approval coming on Feb. 15. The school board must also approve its districts, which would have the same borders.

鈥淗orry County has grown rapidly over the last 10 years,鈥� Servant said. 鈥淎nd making sure that we take everybody鈥檚 concerns into account when we鈥檙e drawing these maps is extremely important.鈥�