Which case established the principle of one person, one vote for congressional districts?

Which case established the principle of one person, one vote for congressional districts?

• A. Wesberry v. Sanders
• B. Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
• C. Frontiero v. Richardson
• D. Grutter v. Bollinger

Answer: (A)

The idea is that voting power should be distributed so that each vote carries roughly the same weight across districts. In Wesberry v. Sanders, the Supreme Court held that when states draw congressional districts, the populations of those districts must be as equal as practicable. This protects the principle that every citizen’s vote has equal influence in choosing representatives, applying the equal protection framework of the 14th Amendment. The case arose because Georgia’s congressional districts varied widely in population, and the Court ruled that such disparities could not stand; districts must be drawn so that the weight of a vote in one district is essentially the same as in another. This decision is the landmark statement of the one person, one vote standard for the U.S. House of Representatives. The other listed cases deal with different issues—poll taxes, gender-based classifications, and affirmative action in education—rather than the population-based equality of congressional districts.

The idea is that voting power should be distributed so that each vote carries roughly the same weight across districts. In Wesberry v. Sanders, the Supreme Court held that when states draw congressional districts, the populations of those districts must be as equal as practicable. This protects the principle that every citizen’s vote has equal influence in choosing representatives, applying the equal protection framework of the 14th Amendment. The case arose because Georgia’s congressional districts varied widely in population, and the Court ruled that such disparities could not stand; districts must be drawn so that the weight of a vote in one district is essentially the same as in another. This decision is the landmark statement of the one person, one vote standard for the U.S. House of Representatives. The other listed cases deal with different issues—poll taxes, gender-based classifications, and affirmative action in education—rather than the population-based equality of congressional districts.