By Richard Winger On May 26, the U.S. Supreme Court said it will hear Evenwel v Abbott, 14-940, a Texas redistricting case involving the State Senate districts. The plaintiffs are voters who live in a rural State Senate district. They argue that the 14th amendment requires that redistricting be based on the number of potential voters, not the population.
The decision to hear this case is a surprise. In 1966 the U.S. Supreme Court had said Hawaii is free to base its redistricting on number of potential voters, not population. But the plaintiffs in Evenwel v Abbott argue that it …read more