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Supreme Court rejects proposed change to voting district head counts
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Apr 2, 2013
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Supreme Court rejects proposed change to voting district head counts
Yesterday, the Supreme Court chose not to comment on a case that challenged how the size of a voting district is decided. In question was whether states should count everyone, not just U.S. citizens, when deciding on districts.
The U.S. Supreme Court building is draped in a photo-realistic sheet during a repair and preservation project December 7, 2012, 2012 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will take up cases on whether same-sex marriage should be banned in California and whether legally married gay couples can get the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples.
The U.S. Supreme Court building is draped in a photo-realistic sheet during a repair and preservation project December 7, 2012, 2012 in Washington, DC.
(
Alex Wong/Getty Images
)

Yesterday, the Supreme Court chose not to comment on a case that challenged how the size of a voting district is decided. In question was whether states should count everyone, not just U.S. citizens, when deciding on districts.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court chose not to comment on a case that challenged how the size of a voting district is decided. In question was whether states should count everyone, not just U.S. citizens, when drawing districts. 

Currently, the court says election districts should be equal in size. Under this rule, state and city officials represent around the same number of people. The one-person, one-vote rule has been in place since the 1960s. 

The case was brought by a small, conservative nonprofit based in Virginia called The Project on Fair Representation, but could have had big implications for areas like Southern California. 

For more on the case, we're joined now by Rick Pildes, law professor at New York University.