The “Project on Fair Representation” filed a lawsuit in federal court demanding that representation be based on citizenship rather than residency. The suit pointed out that in some districts many of the inhabitants were not citizens, yet those residents were counted when district lines were drawn. According to an article in today’s Morning Call, the group’s lawyers noted that in Irving, Texas, where each council district had 31,000 people, one district only had approximately 11,200 eligible voters.
The challenge was denied by a federal district court judge and by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court let the lower court rulings stand.
The Constitution calls for a census every ten years to determine representation. It makes no mention of counting only eligible voters. Everyone is counted, including prisoners in jails. The districts have always been drawn according to residents, not eligible voters.
Had only eligible voters been counted, big cities like Chicago and L.A. and New York would have lost seats. Every now and then we win one.
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