"One person, one vote" principle and which cases established it?

"One person, one vote" principle and which cases established it?

• A. It prohibits any population disparities according to Equal Protection Clause.
• B. Voting rights require federal preclearance; Shelby County v. Holder and Smith v. Allwright.
• C. Legislative districts must have substantially equal populations; Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims.
• D. Each district must have the same geographic area; Wesberry v. Sanders and Harper v. Virginia.

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is that in drawing legislative districts, each vote should carry roughly the same weight. This principle is grounded in the Equal Protection Clause, and it was established for legislative bodies by two key Supreme Court rulings: Baker v. Carr, which opened the door to federal court review of redistricting disputes, and Reynolds v. Sims, which applied the requirement of substantially equal populations to state legislative districts. In other words, districts must be drawn so that their populations are as close as practicable, ensuring one person’s vote isn’t worth significantly more or less than another’s. This standard does not demand equality of geographic size for districts, since population density varies widely. It also isn’t about federal preclearance or about poll taxes, areas covered by different lines of law. Those other options mix in related but separate issues, whereas the established rule about one person, one vote for legislative districts comes from Baker and Reynolds and centers on equal populations within each legislative chamber.

The idea being tested is that in drawing legislative districts, each vote should carry roughly the same weight. This principle is grounded in the Equal Protection Clause, and it was established for legislative bodies by two key Supreme Court rulings: Baker v. Carr, which opened the door to federal court review of redistricting disputes, and Reynolds v. Sims, which applied the requirement of substantially equal populations to state legislative districts. In other words, districts must be drawn so that their populations are as close as practicable, ensuring one person’s vote isn’t worth significantly more or less than another’s.

This standard does not demand equality of geographic size for districts, since population density varies widely. It also isn’t about federal preclearance or about poll taxes, areas covered by different lines of law. Those other options mix in related but separate issues, whereas the established rule about one person, one vote for legislative districts comes from Baker and Reynolds and centers on equal populations within each legislative chamber.