Reynolds v. Sims

Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Alabama’s legislative districts were severely malapportioned — the Alabama Senate had at most one senator per county regardless of population, resulting in massive population disparities between districts. Voters challenged the system as violating the Equal Protection Clause.

Significance

Chief Justice Warren’s 8-1 opinion established the ‘one person, one vote’ principle. The Equal Protection Clause requires that state legislative districts be apportioned substantially on a population basis. While some deviation is permissible, ’the weight of a citizen’s vote cannot be made to depend on where he lives.’ The decision revolutionized American representative government, forcing every state to redraw its legislative districts to achieve approximate population equality. The principle was extended to congressional districts in Wesberry v. Sanders (1964).

Category

US Federal Case Law