Opinion ID: 2520871
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The U.S. Constitution's Grant of Power to the States

Text: The Secretary of State and General Assembly argue that both the United States and Colorado Constitutions grant the General Assembly the exclusive authority to draw congressional districts. In support of this argument, they point to Article I, Section 4, Clause 1, of the U.S. Constitution, which says: The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state, by the legislature thereof.... U.S. Const. art. I, ง 4, cl. 1 (emphasis added). The Secretary of State and General Assembly assert that the word legislature in this clause means that the General Assembly is the only body with authority to draw permanent congressional districts, and that the court may not usurp this absolute power. This argument is flawed. The United States Supreme Court has interpreted the word legislature in Article I to broadly encompass any means permitted by state law, and not to refer exclusively to the state legislature. A state's lawmaking process may include citizen referenda and initiatives, mandatory gubernatorial approval, and any other procedures defined by the state. See Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 52 S.Ct. 397, 76 L.Ed. 795 (1932) (gubernatorial approval); Ohio ex rel. Davis v. Hildebrant, 241 U.S. 565, 36 S.Ct. 708, 60 L.Ed. 1172 (1916) (referenda). The word legislature also extends to special redistricting commissions. Arizona, for instance, has a special commission that draws congressional districts and then submits the plan directly to the Secretary of State, thus bypassing the Arizona legislature entirely. See Ariz. Const. art. IV, part 2, ง 1; Rhonda L. Barnes, Redistricting in Arizona Under the Proposition 106 Provisions: Retrogression, Representation, and Regret, 35 Ariz. St. L.J. 575, 578-81 (2003). Other states with redistricting commissions include Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, and Washington. Tim Storey, Redistricting Spats Unlikely to Spread, Denver Post, Sept. 28, 2003, at 1E, 8E. Most importantly for our purposes, the word legislature, as used in Article I of the federal Constitution, encompasses court orders. State courts have the authority to evaluate the constitutionality of redistricting laws and to enact their own redistricting plans when a state legislature fails to replace unconstitutional districts with valid ones. See generally Growe, 507 U.S. 25, 113 S.Ct. 1075, 122 L.Ed.2d 388; Carstens v. Lamm, 543 F.Supp. 68 (D.Colo.1982). In fact, courts are constitutionally required to draw constitutional congressional districts when the legislature fails to do so. Branch v. Smith, 538 U.S. 254, 123 S.Ct. 1429, 1441, 155 L.Ed.2d 407 (2003). In such a case, a court cannot be characterized as usurping the legislature's authority; rather, the court order fulfills the state's obligation to provide constitutional districts for congressional elections in the absence of legislative action. As these examples reveal, Article I, Section 4, Clause 1, of the U.S. Constitution delegates congressional redistricting power to the states to carry out as they see fit, and not exclusively to the state legislatures. Hence, the U.S. Constitution does not grant absolute redistricting authority to the General Assembly as the Secretary of State and the General Assembly claim, and when courts are forced to draw congressional districts, they are not usurping the state legislature's power.