Case Tests the Meaning of 'One Person, One Vote'

The Supreme Court should affirm the constitutional principle that election districts must be drawn with equal numbers of people in order to ensure full and fair representation, Common Cause argues in a brief filed last week in Evenwel v. Abbott.

Along with Shapiro v. McManus, the Evenwel case is one of two major cases on redistricting to be heard by the Supreme Court in the term opening next Monday. Both will be the subject of a major symposium on redistricting sponsored by Common Cause at George Washington University on October 7.

The amicus curiae brief in Evenwel contends that the Constitution, and in particular the 14^th Amendment's declaration that every person is entitled to "equal protection of the laws," requires that state legislative districts contain substantially equal numbers of people.

Districts drawn based on their number of voters could have dramatically different populations. They would make invisible in our democracy people under the age of 18, along with thousands of non-citizen immigrants serving in the U.S. military, the elderly whose voter registration may have lapsed, and many others who live and work in our communities but are not registered to vote, the brief argues.

The Evenwel case has attracted the attention of voting rights activists, state legislators and local officials across the country. No date has been set for argument.

"This case is about the principle that ours is a government of, by and for the people," said Kathay Feng, Common Cause's national redistricting director. "That means every person should be counted when it comes to creating political districts.

"The plaintiffs essentially argue that voters are entitled to more representation than non-voters," Feng said. "If the plaintiffs succeed, millions of people who live and work in our communities and pay taxes to support our schools, police, and fire departments and other important services would be denied representation in every state capitol in America simply because they are not registered to vote."

The Common Cause brief was signed by veteran Atlanta-based constitutional lawyer Emmet Bondurant, a member of Common Cause's National Governing Board. Bondurant successfully argued Wesberry v. Sanders, a landmark 1964 decision by the high court that ended the malapportionment of congressional districts. New York-based attorney Gregory Diskant, another Common Cause board member, filed an amici brief on behalf of 19 cities organized for the effort by Common Cause, including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Baltimore, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Trenton, and Salt Lake City.

The Evenwel case is reaching the high court well in advance of the next round of redistricting, which in most states will occur in 2021. But it comes amid a growing consensus among legal scholars and political observers that partisan gerrymandering during past redistricting exercises has been a major contributor to bitter divisions between Democrats and Republicans in Congress and many state legislatures.