Supreme Court Upholds One Person, One Vote Rule

Today, the Supreme Court unanimously decided to uphold the “one person, one vote” rule, which allows voting districts to be apportioned according to total population, rather than just eligible voters. The 8-0 decision in Evenwel v. Abbot ensures that non-voting individuals, including children and noncitizen immigrants, will be represented in the design of districts. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) released the following statement:

“I am thrilled with today’s Supreme Court decision to uphold the long standing principle of ‘one person, one vote’ when designing political districts. Had the Court decided differently, large segments of the population would have been left out of state legislative districts simply because they are not eligible to vote. As usual, the real victims would have been our most vulnerable communities, including people of color, children, and the elderly. Here in California, this would have impacted about 40% of the population. This is contrary to the idea of a democracy for all and demonstrates why a strong Voting Rights Act is still needed to fight back against undemocratic tactics today. The unanimity of today’s decision is a heartening reminder that a representative government is vital to the integrity and longevity of our democracy.”