Gerrymandering and Malapportionment

Extract

---

Gerrymandering and Malapportionment

.. . In a democratic country nothing is worse than disfranchisement. And there is no such thing as being just a little bit disfranchised. A free man's right to vote is a full right to vote or it isno right to vote. 1

In most States, voting districts for Federal and State legislators are so

far from equal in population as to cause gross disproportion in representation. 2 This dilution of the votes of some citizens as compared to othersis not commonly defended on the merits. 8 Rather, the controversy hascentered upon the feasibility and appropriateness of particular methodsof rectifying a condition that is admittedly contrary to democratic ideals.

This chapter will examine the controversy and the two separate butrelated problems which give rise to it: "malapportionment," which ispolitical districting in which one group ^pf voters has disproportionatestrength as against other groups of voters in the same election; and"gerrymandering," which is political districting in which, althoughvoting strength may be proportionate, district lines are drawn in sucha way as to put particular groups of voters into, or out of, particulardistricts for the purpose of limiting the effectiveness of their votes. Eachof these problems has ramifications in terms of racial discrimination,and each may be a denial of equal protection of the laws. 4

The most famous example of gerrymandering with a racially discriminatory purpose involved Tuskegee, Ala. As indicated above, 5 the Alabama Legislature in 1957 changed the boundaries of this city in such away that all but 4 or 5 of about 400 Negroes formerly voting in municipalelections were beyond the city limits. A suit to challenge the gerrymander, Gomillion v. Lightfoot* was first dismissed by a U.S. districtcourt. The Supreme Court, however, in November 1960 ruled that"When a legislature thus singles out a readily isolated segment of aracial minority for special discriminatory treatment, it violates the I5thamendment." 7 On remand, the plaintiffs proved that the gerrymanderhad indeed been conducted for a racially discriminatory purpose, andon February 17, 1961, the district court held the statute to be unconstitutional and void. 8

"3

At least two forms of malapportionment have racial aspects. One occurs when, by reason of malapportionment, the political weight of anarea where many of the voters are Negroes (or members of other minoritygroups) is less proportionally than that of comparable areas where thereare...

See the full content of this document

---