Baker v. Carr

Baker v. Carr (1962).In this 6–2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court established that the Federal courts could decide cases involving the malapportionment of state legislatures. Previously, in Colegrove v. Green (1946), the Court held that matters relating to the fair apportionment of state legislative seats were a “political question” that should be considered only by elected officials.

Baker v. Carr involved the wide discrepancy in the numbers of voters living in different state legislative districts in Tennessee, which had ignored a state constitutional provision requiring periodic redistricting. Voters in the less populous rural districts enjoyed disproportionate political power, while those in larger urban districts had their voting power diluted and were thus denied the equal protection of the law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

By taking the case, and thereby overruling the Colegrove decision, the Supreme Court opened the door to litigation to equalize the size of constituencies for all elective offices and established the principle of “one person, one vote.” In Wesberry v. Sanders (1964), the Court held that U.S. congressional districts within a state must consist of roughly equal populations. The same year, the Court in Reynolds v. Sims extended the ruling to both the lower and upper houses of state legislatures.
See also Equality; Federalism; Suffrage.

Bibliography

David M. O'Brien , Storm Center, 2d ed., 1990.
Melvin I. Urofsky , The Continuity of Change, 1991.

Ross K. Baker