Evenwel v. Abbott

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Evenwel v. Abbott
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
Argued December 8, 2015
Decided April 4, 2016
Full case name Sue Evenwel, et al., appellants v. Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, et al.
Docket nos. 14-940
Citations 578 U.S. ___ (more)
Holding
A state may draw its legislative districts based on total population. Western District of Texas affirmed.
Court membership
Case opinions
Majority Ginsburg, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
Concurrence Thomas
Concurrence Alito, joined by Thomas (except Part III–B)
Laws applied
U.S. Const., Amdt. XIV

Evenwel v. Abbott, 578 U.S. ___ (2016), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the one person, one vote principle under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment allows states to use total population, not just total voting-eligible population, in drawing of legislative districts.[1]

Background

The suit originated when Sue Evenwel and Edward Pfenninger filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, arguing that districts drawn based on total population dilute their vote compared to those in other Texas Senate districts. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of a claim on which relief could be granted.[2]

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court affirmed the District Court and held that total population may be used in redistricting. It did not rule on whether states are permitted to base districts on the number of eligible voters instead of the total population.[3][4]

See also

  • Edward Blum — director of Project on Fair Representation
  • Reynolds v. Sims — a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population.

References

  1. Evenwel v. Abbott, No. 14-940, 578 U.S. ___, slip op. at 1 (2016).
  2. Evenwel, slip op. at 6.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>