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Constitutional Law Keyed to Farber
Reynolds v. Sims
Citation:
Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 84 S. Ct. 1362, 12 LEd.2d 506 (1964)Facts
Voters from Jefferson County, Alabama, challenged the apportionment of the state legislature, alleging in 1964 that the last reapportionment of the state legislature was based on the 1900 census. The state constitution required at least one representative per county and senatorial district. However, the district in Jefferson County, which is near Birmingham, contained 41 times as many eligible voters as those in another district of the state. Sims and the other voters argued that this lack of proportionality prevented them from effectively participating in a republican form of government.
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