POS2041 Lecture Notes - Lecture 33: Jefferson County, Alabama, Originalism, Bicameralism
17 Aug 2020
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Sims, david j. vann), john mcconnell, and other voters from jefferson county, Alabama, challenged the apportionment of the state legislature. Lines dividing electoral districts had resulted in dramatic population discrepancies among districts. The state constitution required at least one representative per county and senatorial district. However, the district in jefferson county, which is near birmingham, contained 41 times as many eligible voters as those in another district of the state. Sims and the other voters argued that this lack of proportionality prevented them from effectively participating in a republican form of government: constitutional question. Whether alabama"s apportionment scheme violated the fourteenth amendment"s equal. Protection clause by mandating at least one representative per county and creating as many senatorial districts as there were senators, regardless of population variances: conclusion. Equal protection requires that state legislative districts should be composed of roughly equal populations if possible. In an 8-to-1 decision authored by justice earl warren, the court upheld the challenge to the.
