South Carolina Senate
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The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the same time as U.S. Presidential elections.
The South Carolina Constitution of 1895 provided for each county to elect one senator for a four-year term. The election of senators was staggered so that half of the state Senate was elected every two years. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1964 for the case Reynolds v. Sims, the state Senate was reapportioned in 1966 as a temporary measure into 27 districts with 50 members for two-year terms. In 1967, the state Senate was again reapportioned, this time into 20 districts with 46 members for four-year terms. The number of districts was reduced to 16 in 1972 and in 1984, they were eliminated with the creation of single member districts.
[edit] Make-up of South Carolina Senate
| Affiliation | Members |
|
| Republican Party | 26 | |
| Democratic Party | 20 | |
| Total |
46 | |
| Government Majority |
6 | |
[edit] Past Make-up of the Senate
| Year | Democratic Party |
Republican Party |
Independent / Other |
Government Majority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1865 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 31 |
| 1868 | 6(a) | 25 | 0 | 19 |
| 1870 | 5 | 26 | 1 | 22 |
| 1872 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 23 |
| 1874 | 0 | 26 | 7(b) | 19 |
| 1876 | 15 | 18 | 0 | 3 |
| 1878 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 28 |
| 1880 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 30 |
| 1902- 1906 |
41 | 0 | 0 | 41 |
| 1908 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 42 |
| 1910 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 43 |
| 1912- 1914 |
44 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 1916- 1918 |
45 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| 1920- 1964 |
46 | 0 | 0 | 46 |
| 1966 | 43 | 6 | 1 | 37 |
| 1968 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 40 |
| 1972 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 40 |
| 1976 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 40 |
| 1980 | 39 | 5 | 0 | 34 |
| 1984 | 36 | 10 | 0 | 26 |
| 1988 | 35 | 11 | 0 | 24 |
| 1992 | 30 | 16 | 0 | 14 |
| 1996 | 25 | 21 | 0 | 4 |
| 2000 | 22(c) | 24(c) | 0 | 2 |
| 2004 | 20 | 26 | 0 | 6 |
(a) The election of a Democrat from Abbeville was declared void and the seat remained vacant.
(b) All 7 were members of the Conservative Party of South Carolina.
(c) After the 2000 elections, the Senate was evenly split between 23 Democrats and 23 Republicans. A Democrat switched to the Republicans to break the tie.
[edit] External links
- South Carolina State House Online
- South Carolina Legislative Information Tracking System This system is designed to allow users to track legislative information via custom reports, tracking lists or subscription services. Services are provided via web search or Palm Pilot.
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