No. 14-232October Term 2015Decided Nov 24, 2015
Harris v. Ariz. Indep. Redistricting Comm'n
Voters sued the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, arguing that newly drawn voting districts violated the one person, one vote principle by over-populating Republican-leaning districts and under-populating Democratic-leaning ones.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Nov 24, 2015
- What it's about
Voters sued the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, arguing that newly drawn voting districts violated the one person, one vote principle by over-populating Republican-leaning districts and under-populating Democratic-leaning ones. The Supreme Court ruled that minor population deviations are constitutional if they result from legitimate considerations, such as a good faith effort to comply with the Voting Rights Act.
Question presented
1. Does the desire to gain advantage for one political party justify intentionally over-populating voting districts so that individual votes are devalued, thereby violating the one-person, one-vote principle? 2. Does the desire to obtain favorable preclearance review from the Justice Department permit the creation of voting districts that deviate from the one-person, one-vote principle in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder?
- Case path
United States District Court for the District of Arizona / Decision released Nov 24, 2015
- Area
Elections
Timing
Decided November 24, 2015
The Court released its decision on November 24, 2015 without hearing oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology