Legal Definitions - malapportionment

Malapportionment refers to the improper or unconstitutional distribution of voters among legislative districts. It occurs when the population of electoral districts within a state or jurisdiction is significantly unequal, leading to a situation where some citizens' votes carry more weight than others. This violates the fundamental democratic principle of "one person, one vote," which requires that all votes be given roughly equal power in elections to ensure fair representation.

Here are some examples to illustrate malapportionment:

• Example 1: Rural vs. Urban Disparity

  Imagine a state where a legislative district covering a vast rural area has only 60,000 residents, but it elects one representative to the state assembly. In contrast, a densely populated urban district within the same state, with 600,000 residents, also elects just one representative.

  Explanation: This scenario demonstrates malapportionment because a vote cast in the rural district holds ten times the power of a vote cast in the urban district. The unequal population distribution means that the rural voters have disproportionately more influence on legislative outcomes compared to their urban counterparts, directly violating the "one person, one vote" principle.

• Example 2: Outdated District Boundaries

  Consider a county that has not redrawn its electoral districts for its county commission in over fifty years. During this period, one part of the county experienced massive population growth due to new industries and suburban development, while another part saw its population decline significantly as older industries closed and residents moved away.

  Explanation: If the districts were originally drawn to be roughly equal in population, the dramatic demographic shifts over five decades without redistricting would inevitably lead to malapportionment. The district that grew immensely would now have many more residents than the shrinking district, meaning each vote in the smaller, declining district would carry more weight than a vote in the larger, growing district.

• Example 3: Intentional Unequal Population Distribution

  A hypothetical city council decides to draw its four electoral districts such that two districts each contain 15% of the city's total population, while the other two districts each contain 35% of the population.

  Explanation: This setup is malapportioned because the voters in the two smaller districts (15% population) have significantly more electoral power than those in the two larger districts (35% population). Each vote in a 15% population district is effectively more than twice as powerful as a vote in a 35% population district, directly undermining the equality of representation regardless of the physical shape of the districts.