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USA TODAY - L awrence J ournal -W orld TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016
Supreme Court upholds ‘one person, one vote’ Justices leave intact counting residents, a blow to conservatives Richard Wolf USA TODAY
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WASHINGTON
he Supreme Court refused Monday to change the way state and municipal voting districts are drawn, denying an effort by conservatives that could have increased the number of rural, mostly white districts at the expense of urban, largely Hispanic ones. The “one person, one vote” case was among the most consequential of the high court’s term, and once again the court’s liberal wing won out. The unanimous ruling left intact Texas’ method — followed by nearly all states — of counting all residents when drawing state and local voting districts. Challengers had argued only eligible voters should be counted, a method that would have allowed states to ignore non-citizens and others who do not vote, including children. In most cases, that would have helped Republican candidates and hurt Democrats. More people would be packed into diverse, inner-city districts to account for non-voters, thereby creating more suburban and rural districts dominated by whites. If the court had ruled that districts should be based on eligible voters rather than total population, states with large numbers of non-citizens would have seen the biggest change — Texas, California, New York, New Jersey, Arizona and Nevada among them. Cities such as Chicago and Miami also would have been affected. Six justices signed on to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s opinion, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy. Justices Samuel
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Adopting votereligible apportionment as constitutional command would upset a well-functioning approach to districting that all 50 states and countless local jurisdictions have followed for decades, even centuries.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in her opinion
ANDREW HARRER, BLOOMBERG
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion, signed by six other justices that leaves intact the way state and municipal districts are drawn.
IN BRIEF KOREAN WAR VETERAN LAID TO REST
Alito and Clarence Thomas, the most conservative members of the court, concurred but did not rule out the potential benefit of counting voters. “Adopting voter-eligible apportionment as constitutional command would upset a well-functioning approach to districting that all 50 states and countless local jurisdictions have followed for decades, even centuries,” Ginsburg wrote. Because challengers had sought to force a change to counting only eligible voters, the court did not rule on a lesser possibility — that states merely be allowed to switch to voters. But no states currently do so, partly because of the difficulty in counting voters rather than all residents. “We need not and do not resolve whether, as Texas now argues, states may elect to draw districts to equalize voter population instead,” Ginsburg said. Thomas and Alito agreed that Texas cannot be forced to switch to using only eligible voters in drawing districts, but they said switching is not necessarily unconstitutional. “The choice is best left for the people of the states to decide for themselves how they should apportion their legislature,” Thomas wrote. The equal protection clause of the Constitution is supposed to guarantee each person the same political power. The problem is that the Supreme Court still has not decided who should be counted — all people, or just voters. The Texas decision, Evenwel v. Abbott, merely says states’ use of total population is constitutional. Edward Blum, director of the Project on Fair Representation, which initiated the case, expressed disappointment at the verdict. “The issue of voter equality in the United States is not going to go away,” he said. “Some Supreme Court cases grow in importance over time, and Evenwel v. Abbott may likely be one of those cases.”
Minimum wage increases signed into law in Calif., N.Y. Rate boosts pay for 6.5M Calif. workers; N.Y. OKs family leave John Bacon USA TODAY
CHIP SOMODEVILLA, GETTY IMAGES
Urbana Warfel visits the casket of her brother, U.S. Army Sgt. Wilson Meckley Jr., Monday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Meckley, of Lancaster, Pa., was declared missing, then dead, after his unit was overwhelmed by Chinese forces in 1950. DNA testing helped to identify his remains. SIGHTSEEING HELICOPTER CRASH IN TENNESSEE KILLS 5
SENATORS REMAIN LOCKED OVER SUPREME COURT
A sightseeing helicopter crash in eastern Tennessee killed five people Monday afternoon, police said. “There was not much left of the helicopter,” said Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin near the scene. “There’s just a small piece of the tailwing and that’s about what’s left of the helicopter.” Witnesses reported hearing explosions and seeing fire after the crash around 3:30 p.m. They also reported seeing the helicopter crash into trees. Officials told the Federal Aviation Administration that the Bell 206 two-bladed sightseeing helicopter was destroyed by fire. — WBIR-TV, Knoxville, Tenn.
Senators remained at a stalemate Monday over the the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court as they returned from a two-week recess marked by heavy lobbying from groups supporting and opposing an up-ordown vote on the judge. Republican leaders still are vowing not to hold hearings or a confirmation vote on Garland while Democrats are still demanding action on the nomination. More than a dozen Republicans have indicated that they will meet with Garland, although all but two still oppose any action beyond granting him that traditional courtesy. Garland serves as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. — Erin Kelly
U.S. JOINS MILITARY EXERCISES IN PHILIPPINES
U.S. and allied forces gather in the Philippines this week for joint military exercises as a show of force to counter China’s controversial territorial claims in the South China Sea. More than 5,000 U.S., Philippines and Australian troops will take part in the annual Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) training exercises, which began Monday and run through April 16. Training includes amphibious warfare drills and disaster relief operations. — Kirk Spitzer
AMTRAK DELAYED, BUT ROLLING AFTER TRAGIC DAY
Some train commuters faced modest delays Monday, but Amtrak was operating full bore one day after a crash in Pennsylvania left two workers dead and snarled rail traffic for almost 24 hours in the Northeast corridor. Acela Express, Northeast Regional and other services between here and Philadelphia could see some delays, Amtrak said. — Brittany Horn, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
In a major victory for Big Labor and the little guy, governors of California and New York each signed legislation Monday that will push the minimum wage in those states to $15 per hour. California Gov. Jerry Brown’s legislation makes his state the first to commit to raising the minimum wage to $15 by the end of 2022. Under a deal reached with state lawmakers last week, the state minimum wage will rise to $10.50 on Jan. 1 for businesses with 26 or more employees. Annual increases will result in a minimum of $15 per hour in January 2022. Smaller businesses would have until the end of 2022 to comply. “This is about economic justice,” Brown said at a ceremony in Los Angeles. “This is an important day. It’s not the end of the struggle but it’s a very important step forward.” The increase will boost the wages of about 6.5 million California residents, or 43% of the state’s workforce, who earn less than $15, according to worker group Fight for $15. New York’s plan will bring the $15 level to New York City before it goes statewide. “Proud to sign into law $15 statewide minimum wage and the strongest paid family leave policy in the nation,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted after signing the bill at a labor rally in New York City. For workers in New York City employed by businesses with at least 11 employees, the minimum wage would rise to $11 at the end of 2016, then another $2 each of the next two years. For employees of smaller companies in the city, the minimum wage would rise to $10.50 by the end of the year, then another $1.50 each year for three years. For workers elsewhere in the state, the increase would be slower.
MIKE NELSON , EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
Supporters of the new minimum wage law celebrate after California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the legislation Monday, making California the first state to commit to raising the rate to $15.
“This is about economic justice. This is an important day. It’s not the end of the struggle but it’s a very important step forward.” California Gov. Jerry Brown
New York’s family-leave provision, when fully implemented in 2012, will make workers eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave when caring for an infant, a family member with a serious health condition or to relieve family pressures when someone is called to active military service.
About a dozen cities have already approved bumps in their minimum wages to $15, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and several other municipalities in California. The federal minimum wage has stalled at $7.25 because of fierce opposition from some Republicans in Congress who want the labor market to determine the pay floor. Foes of increasing the federal level say the higher labor costs could force some businesses to replace workers with technology — or even shut down. The Democratic Party adopted a $15 minimum in its platform this election season, and Sen. Bernie Sanders supports it. Hillary Clinton has said she backs a $12 pay floor.