| Litigants: | Evenwel v. Abbott |
| Arguedate: | December 8 |
| Argueyear: | 2015 |
| Decidedate: | April 4 |
| Decideyear: | 2016 |
| Fullname: | Sue Evenwel, et al., appellants v. Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, et al. |
| Usvol: | 578 |
| Uspage: | ___ |
| Parallelcitations: | 136 S. Ct. 1120; 194 L. Ed. 2d 291 |
| Docket: | 14-940 |
| Oralargument: | https://www.oyez.org/cases/2015/14-940 |
| Opinionannouncement: | https://www.oyez.org/cases/YYYY-YYYY/YYYY/YY-Docket/opinion/--> |
| Holding: | A state may draw its legislative districts based on total population. Western District of Texas affirmed. |
| Majority: | Ginsburg |
| Joinmajority: | Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Concurrence: | Thomas (in judgment) |
| Concurrence2: | Alito (in judgment) |
| Joinconcurrence2: | Thomas (except Part III–B) |
| Lawsapplied: | U.S. Const. amend. XIV |
Evenwel v. Abbott, 136 S. Ct. 1120 (2016), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the principle of one person, one vote, under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution allows states to use total population, not just total voting-eligible population, to draw legislative districts.[1]
The suit originated when Sue Evenwel and Edward Pfenninger filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, arguing that districts drawn based on total population dilute their vote compared to those in other Texas Senate districts. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of a claim on which relief could be granted.[2]
The question presented to the Court was the following: "Whether the 'one-person, one-vote' principle of the Fourteenth Amendment creates a judicially enforceable right ensuring that the districting process does not deny voters an equal vote."[3]
The Supreme Court affirmed the District Court and held that total population may be used in redistricting. It did not rule on whether states are permitted to base districts on the number of eligible voters, instead of the total population.[4] [5]