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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Mobile v. Bolden
Citation:
446 U.S. 55, 100 S.Ct. 1490, 64 L.Ed.2d 47 (1980).Facts
Bolden and other residents of Mobile, Alabama brought a class action on behalf of all black citizens in Mobile, arguing that the practice of electing the City Commissioners at-large unfairly diluted the voting strength of black citizens. The City Commission consists of 3 members elected by the voters of the city at-large, which is the same basic electoral system that is followed by thousands of municipalities and other local governmental units throughout the nation. The constitutional objection to multimember districts is the lack of representation multimember districts afford various elements of the voting population in a system of representative legislative democracy. Specifically, criticism of multimember districts is rooted in their winner-take-all aspects, their tendency to submerge minorities, and a general preference for legislatures to reflect community interests as closely as possible.
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