Re: Power of the SCOTUS IX: The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the SCOTUS nine that day
Re: Power of the SCOTUS IX: The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the SCOTUS nine that day
The one man, one vote principle is a good one.
But the question is how much Federal interference in what is a state prerogative is too much.
Particularly since SCOTUS rulings become precedent and often become static; while Congressional district lines must be re-drawn every ten years as a result of the census data. Like Kennedy said, "we don't want every disagreement over district lines to wind up on our desk."
I wonder what the legal arguments are about drawing district lines based on total population versus drawing district lines based on US citizen population (i.e., total population vs population that is eligible to vote/will be eligible to vote once old enough). You cannot "disenfranchise" someone who doesn't have the right to vote to begin with.
I know in some states there is tremendous pressure on census takers (temporary workers paid minimum wage) to find every person they possibly can*, and not ask about citizenship. Not only Congressional representation, but also funding for a number of various federal programs, depend upon population totals as recorded in the census.
Are states like California and Texas over-represented compared to, say, Minnesota or New Hampshire? (perhaps based on an unwarranted assumption of total population vs US citizen population in those states).
and it is not only "illegal" immigrants in this question, it also would be legal immigrants.
* I was a census-taker once. While much of the census is done by mail, there are several areas in which that alone is insufficient.
- some people don't respond to the mailing, and so we were supposed to knock on their door. We each had lists of home addresses. Phone calls didn't count; had to be in person.
- There is a specified day in which every census taker is supposed to tally people in motor homes; we were going through Walmart parking lot / shopping center parking lots knocking on doors on that day.
- There is also a specified day in which we tallied homeless people; that was a bit unnerving and we were advised always to travel in pairs.