Baker v. Carr: Establishing the One Person, One Vote Principle in the United States

Baker v. Carr

case that est. one man one vote. this decision created guidelines for drawing up congressional districts and guaranteed a more equitable system of representation to the citizens of each state

Baker v. Carr was a landmark case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1962. The case dealt with the issue of reapportionment of state legislative districts, specifically the redrawing of district lines in Tennessee.

The plaintiff, Charles Baker, argued that the Tennessee General Assembly had failed to reapportion its legislative districts since 1901, resulting in a grossly uneven representation of urban and rural populations. Baker contended that this violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment since rural voters had a disproportionate amount of power in the state’s legislative process.

The Tennessee defendants argued that the federal courts had no jurisdiction over the matter due to the political question doctrine, which holds that certain issues are beyond the judicial branch’s scope. They also argued that the question of reapportionment was a political rather than a legal matter that should be resolved by the state’s legislature.

However, in a 6-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Baker, holding that the issue of reapportionment was justiciable and the federal courts had a duty to ensure fair representation under the Equal Protection Clause. The court noted that the redistricting issue presented a political question, but one that was subject to judicial review.

The Baker v. Carr decision established the principle of “one person, one vote,” which requires that legislative districts be drawn in a way that ensures that each vote is equally weighted. This decision paved the way for similar court cases, which eventually led to a more equitable distribution of political power across the United States.

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