U.S. House of Representatives reapportionment lawsuit filed in Mississippi
Yesterday a lawsuit was filed in the federal district court for the Northern District of Mississippi. The lawsuit has national implications as it seeks to declare the law capping the number of U.S. representatives at 435 as unconstitutional. For those who are not up on their political science, the 83rd Congress enacted a law freezing the total number of U.S. representatives in the U.S. House at 435. This lawsuit seeks to overturn the 1911 law arguing that the law creates "significant under-representation for some states, and significant over-representation." The five states under-represented include Mississippi, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, and Utah. As an example, Montana has 1 congressional district for the state (meaning one U.S. representative) with a 2000 population of 905,316 persons. Wyoming, on the other hand, has 1 congressional district with a population of 495,304 persons. As such, Wyoming is over-represented in comparison to Montana, according to the lawsuit.
This lawsuit also enacts a provision of federal law which requires a three-judge panel to decide the case as opposed to the usual federal district court case where one judge makes the decision.
At the very least, the lawsuit ought to be a great civics lesson. Stay tuned.
You can read the Complaint by clicking here.
