Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
Spatial Diversity, Nicholas Stephanopoulos
Spatial Diversity, Nicholas Stephanopoulos
Nicholas Stephanopoulos
Why do Supreme Court opinions denounce some districts as political gerrymanders but say nothing about other superficially similar districts? Why does the Court deem some majority-minority districts unnecessary under the Voting Rights Act, or even unconstitutional, but uphold other apparently analogous districts? This Article introduces a concept -- “spatial diversity” -- that helps explain these and many other election law oddities. Spatial diversity refers to the variation of a given factor over geographic space. For example, a district with a normal income distribution is spatially diverse, with respect to earnings, if most rich people live in one area and most …
Redistricting And The Territorial Community, Nicholas Stephanopoulos
Redistricting And The Territorial Community, Nicholas Stephanopoulos
Nicholas Stephanopoulos
As the next redistricting cycle begins, the courts are stuck in limbo. The Supreme Court has held unanimously that political gerrymandering can be unconstitutional—but it has also rejected every standard suggested to date for distinguishing lawful from unlawful district plans. This Article offers a way out of the impasse. It proposes that courts resolve gerrymandering disputes by examining how well districts correspond to natural geographic communities. Districts ought to be upheld when they coincide with such communities, but struck down when they needlessly disrupt them. This approach, which I call the “territorial community test,” has a robust theoretical pedigree. In …