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Voting & Elections
Reynolds v. Sims
Decided: 1964
In brief
Required state legislative districts to be roughly equal in population under 'one person, one vote.'
The Court's ruling in depth
The Court held that both houses of a bicameral state legislature must be apportioned by population. 'Legislators represent people, not trees or acres.' Reynolds and its companion cases reshaped American state government, breaking rural over-representation and empowering urban and suburban voters.