''Gray v. Sanders'', 372 U.S. 368 (1963), was a Supreme Court of the United States case dealing with equal representation in regard to the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

election system and formulated the famous "

one person, one vote "One man, one vote", or "one person, one vote", expresses the principle that individuals should have equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of political equality to refer to such electoral reforms as universal suffrage, ...

" standard applied in this case for "counting votes in a Democratic primary election for the nomination of a United States Senator and statewide officers — which was practically equivalent to election."

Background

James O'Hear Sanders, a businessman and voter in

Fulton County, Georgia Fulton County is located in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most-populous county and its only one with over one million inha ...

, brought a lawsuit which challenged the legality of the County Unit System. James H. Gray, the chairman of the State Executive Committee of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

, was one of the named defendants as the suit focused on the Democratic party primary elections which usually determined the selection of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

officeholders. Sanders argued that the County Unit System gave unequal and preferential voting power to smaller counties. Rural counties which accounted for one-third of Georgia's population, accounted for a majority of County Unit votes. Fulton County had 14.11% of Georgia's population at that time, but only 1.46% (6 unit votes) of the 410 Unit Votes.

Echols County, Georgia Echols County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,697. The county seat is Statenville. Statenville is a disincorporated municipality. Echols and Webster co ...

, the smallest county in Georgia at the time, had 1,876United States Census, 1960 people or .05% of the state's population and .48% (1 unit vote) of the unit system. The system gave votes to Fulton County at a proportion of one-tenth the county population while giving Echols County a vote which was 10 times the population of the county. The Supreme Court granted

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

in this case despite having refused to hear previous challenges to the Unit System.

The court's decision

By a vote of 8 to 1, the court struck down the County Unit System. Justice

William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ...

wrote the majority opinion and said "The concept of political equality...can mean only one thing—one person, one vote". The court found that the separation of voters in the same election into different classes was a violation of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. Justice

John Marshall Harlan II John Marshall Harlan (May 20, 1899 – December 29, 1971) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. Harlan is usually called John Marshall Harlan II to distinguish him ...

dissented, suggesting the case be sent back for retrial, which would have investigated the constitutional requirements for legislative districts.

Aftermath

had the option of modifying the County Unit System to make it more equal, but instead the state decided to move to using the popular vote in primary elections.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray v. Sanders United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court United States electoral redistricting case law United States One Person, One Vote Legal Doctrine United States equal protection case law 1963 in United States case law Democratic Party (United States) litigation Civil rights movement case law

Background

The court's decision

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

References

External links