Boston College Law Review Volume 26 Article 8 Issue 2 Number 2 3-1-1985 The aM ndate of Equipopulous Congressional Districting: Karcher v. Daggett Richard K. Stavinski Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr Part of the State and Local Government Law Commons Recommended Citation Richard K. Stavinski, The Mandate of Equipopulous Congressional Districting: Karcher v. Daggett, 26 B.C.L. Rev. 563 (1985), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr/vol26/iss2/8 This Casenotes is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Mandate of Equipopulous Congressional Districting: Karcher v. Daggett' — Article I, section 2 of the United States Constitution requires that members of the House of Representatives be chosen "by the People of the several States."' The Supreme Court has interpreted this requirement to mean not only that Representatives must be elected by popular vote,3 but also that each person's vote must he given equal weight.' Accordingly, states must draw congressional voting districts containing equal numbers of people, and districting plans are subject to judicial review to insure that this constitutional require- ment is met.' In the recent case of Karcher v. Daggell 6 the Supreme Court reviewed and found unconstitutional New jersey's latest congressional redistricting plan . 7 In a five-to-four decision, the Court reaffirmed its holding in Kirkpatrick v.