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Article
Constitutional Law--Elections--Validity of Congressional Districting
Dale Furnish
50 Iowa L. Rev. 163 (1964)
 
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Abstract:

In Wesberry v. Sanders, 84 Sup. Ct. 526 (1964), the Supreme Court of the United States addressed the precise issue of whether congressional districts established by a state presented a justiciable issue in federal courts. It held that Article I, section 2 of the Constitution requires that state legislatures must apportion congressional districts to insure as nearly as is practicable that they contain equal numbers of people.. The case involved qualified voters who brought an action to have a Georgia statute establishing congressional districts declared invalid. Plaintiffs urged that the numbers of voters in Georgia's several congressional districts were so disproportionate that they were deprived of the full benefit of their right to vote, in violation of both article I, section 2, and the fourteenth amendment of the Constitution of the United States. This article analyzes this decision and considers each Justices’ positions.

Keywords: Wesberry v. Sanders, Equal Protection, Voting Rights
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