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Supreme Court to Weigh Meaning of ‘One Person One Vote’
The New York Times ^ | 26 May 2015 | Adam Liptak

Posted on 05/26/2015 2:55:52 PM PDT by Theoria

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a case that will answer a long-contested question about a bedrock principle of the American political system: the meaning of “one person one vote.”

The court has never resolved whether that means that voting districts should have the same number of people, or the same number of eligible voters. The difference matters in places with large numbers of people who cannot vote legally, including immigrants who are here legally but are not citizens; unauthorized immigrants; children; and prisoners.

The new case, Evenwel v. Abbott, No. 14-940, is a challenge to voting districts for the Texas Senate brought by two voters, Sue Evenwel and Edward Pfenninger. They are represented by the Project on Fair Representation, the small conservative advocacy group that has mounted earlier challenges to affirmative action and to a central part of the Voting Rights Act.

“There are voters or potential voters in Texas whose Senate votes are worth approximately one and one-half times that of appellants,” the challengers’ brief said.

In a statement issued after the Supreme Court accepted their case, Ms. Evenwel and Mr. Pfenninger said they “hoped that the outcome of our lawsuit will compel Texas to equalize the number of eligible voters in each district.”

A 1964 Supreme Court decision, Reynolds v. Sims, ruled that voting districts must contain very close to the same number of people. But the court did not say which people count.

Almost all state and local governments draw districts based on total population. If people who were ineligible to vote were evenly distributed, the difference between counting all people or counting only eligible voters would not matter. But demographic patterns vary widely.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aliens; election; supremecourt; voting
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1 posted on 05/26/2015 2:55:52 PM PDT by Theoria
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To: Theoria
Some have suggested: '“shift power markedly at every level, away from cities and neighborhoods with many immigrants and many children and toward the older, whiter, more exclusively native-born areas in which a higher proportion of the total population consists of eligible voters.”'
2 posted on 05/26/2015 2:57:57 PM PDT by Theoria (I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive)
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To: Theoria

They will tear it apart one smooth-sounding argument at a time.


3 posted on 05/26/2015 2:59:57 PM PDT by 9thLife (The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.)
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To: Theoria

left redefining words again...


4 posted on 05/26/2015 3:01:39 PM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited (specifically) to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)
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To: Theoria

If you live in an urban district that is disproportionately populated with illegal aliens then logic dictates that it is YOU whose vote is disproportionate and not the white suburbanite who lives in a district of mostly white suburbanites.

This is the opposite of what these mathematically challenged people are arguing.


5 posted on 05/26/2015 3:02:09 PM PDT by MeganC (You can ignore reality, but reality won't ignore you.)
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To: Theoria

Not being law-minded, I have no idea what this means.


6 posted on 05/26/2015 3:02:33 PM PDT by wastedyears (Knights of Sidonia)
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To: hosepipe

LIKE; the left is progressive.. when it’s really regressive..


7 posted on 05/26/2015 3:02:49 PM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited (specifically) to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)
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To: Theoria

Corp.s are a person/individual. Can they vote?


8 posted on 05/26/2015 3:03:34 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: Theoria

hell, i will go farther than this..

why do people who do not pay property taxes get to vote on property tax increases???

why do you think every municipality has minimum high density housing requirements??

so apartment dwellers and condo owners can out vote the property owners...

property taxes are a crime...


9 posted on 05/26/2015 3:04:40 PM PDT by joe fonebone (Time to put the taxpayer first)
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To: Theoria
WILL THE SCOTUS SLAM COUNTUING DEAD PROPLE?
10 posted on 05/26/2015 3:04:43 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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To: Theoria

since we allow US citizens to vote although they are living abroad, it would seem to be discriminatory not to allow non-citizens how are living abroad not to vote.


11 posted on 05/26/2015 3:05:12 PM PDT by MNDude (God is not a Republican, but Satan is certainly a Democrat.)
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To: Theoria

It isn’t rocket science. It means: Each citizen may cast one vote.


12 posted on 05/26/2015 3:09:03 PM PDT by GingisK
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To: Theoria
a bedrock principle of the American political system: the meaning of “one person one vote.”

That phrase is not a bedrock of anything. "One man, one vote," as the liberals used to call it in the 1960s, is an anti-Federalist bit of Communist clap-trap, another attempt to bypass the words of the Constitution to push toward gerrymandered, "democratic" elections. This idea began as yet more election-tinkering to make vote fraud in favor of Democrats easier.

13 posted on 05/26/2015 3:09:46 PM PDT by SamuraiScot
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To: Theoria

The Founders’ infamous argument over counting slaves for purposes of representation should determine this issue.
Only citizens count.

No doubt, the ‘progressives’ will try to get 3/5 of the illegals counted...


14 posted on 05/26/2015 3:12:27 PM PDT by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat/RINO Party!)
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To: joe fonebone

I must have missed something. Does the Constitution use the expression “one man one vote”?

I agree about property tax. Now THAT should be unconstitutional. Some pay and some don’t?


15 posted on 05/26/2015 3:12:41 PM PDT by xzins (Donate to the Freep-a-Thon or lose your ONLY voice. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Theoria

Art 1, Sec 2: Enumeration ...every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.

Districts are based on the census. The census is based on the above “they shall by Law direct”

So are fake conservatives now asking the Court to pass another law?


16 posted on 05/26/2015 3:19:52 PM PDT by spintreebob
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To: Theoria

ONE BALLOT PER REGISTERED VOTER!


17 posted on 05/26/2015 3:21:28 PM PDT by equaviator (There's nothing like the universe to bring you down to earth.)
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To: hosepipe

The left will try anything and in the meantime the Feds ruled 2-1 against Obama. It is time to impeach him.


18 posted on 05/26/2015 3:23:35 PM PDT by Lumper20 ( clown in Chief has own Gov employees Gestapo)
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To: Theoria

Without voter fraud, the rats have nothing.....


19 posted on 05/26/2015 3:38:30 PM PDT by Envisioning (4.13.15 - That awkward moment in history when 53 million racists became sexists...)
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To: Theoria
“one person citizen one vote.”

Fixed it.

-PJ

20 posted on 05/26/2015 3:40:53 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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