Election redistricting

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Case Name: Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm’n

Case No.: 14-232

District court did not err in upholding Arizona redistricting plan.

“The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause requires States to “make an honest and good faith effort to construct [legislative] districts . . . as nearly of equal population as is practicable,” Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U. S. 533, 577, but mathematical perfection is not required. Deviations may be justified by “legitimate considerations,” id., at 579, including “traditional districting principles such as compactness [and] contiguity,” Shaw v. Reno, 509 U. S. 630, 647, as well as a state interest in maintaining the integrity of political subdivisions, Mahan v. Howell, 410 U. S. 315, 328, a competitive balance among political parties, Gaffney v. Cummings, 412 U. S. 735, 752, and, before Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U. S. ___, compliance with §5 of the Voting Rights Act. It was proper for the Commission to proceed on the last basis here. In addition, “minor deviations from mathematical equality”—i.e., deviations “under 10%,” Brown v. Thomson, 462 U. S. 835, 842—do not, by themselves, “make out a prima facie case of invidious discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment [requiring] justification by the State,” Gaffney, supra, at 745. Because the deviation here is under 10%, appellants cannot rely upon the numbers to show a constitutional violation. Instead, they must show that it is more probable than not that the deviation reflects the predominance of illegitimate reapportionment factors rather than “legitimate considerations.””

Affirmed

Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.