10,853

1

there were standards. A congressional district had

2

to be compact and contiguous. Thereafter, as the Supreme

3

Court cases evolved, they had to be substantially equal

4

in population.

6

The Supreme Court of the United States is still

6

grappling with what constitutes equal population for

7

congressional districts. It seems fair to say that it

8

requires a greater standard of equality, if I can use that

9

term, for the Congress and congressional districts that

10

it requires for state districts.

11

The most recent case was decided several weeks

12

ago and involved Ohio, where the districts varied a total

13

of 31 percent. This was held to be unconstitutional by the

14

majority of the Supreme Court without an opinion. There

15

was a two-man dissent which attempted to evaluate the reason;

16

for the ruling of the six judges in the majority.

17

Now, what we have proposed to do with 3.03(b) is,

18

of course, first of all to eliminate single member districts,

19

That is the only area in which Congress has legislated thus

20

far. On November 30 of this year, it amended a special bill,

21

a private bill, to provide that there shall be no at large