Redistricting Litigation
Overview of the Supreme Court's Gerrymandering Decisions
The U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are the principal Federal laws that come into play in redistricting litigation. Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution provides that Members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen "by the People of the Several States." Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) held that this provision "means that as nearly as practicable one [person’s] vote in a congressional election is to be worth as much as another’s." Thus, States must make a good-faith effort to achieve precise mathematical population equality in congressional districting. "Unless…
