Apportionment Quotes

Every planter South of the Potomac has three votes in effect for every five slaves he keeps in bondage; while a New England farmer who contributes ten-fold as much to the support of the Government has only a single vote.

As nearly as practicable one man's vote in a congressional election is to be worth as much as another's.

How … can one person be given twice or ten times the voting power of another person ... merely because he lives in a rural area.

The conception of political equality can mean only one thing—one person–one vote.

Five of its nine silk gowns are worn by Slaveholders. More than half its long Bench is filled with Slaveholders. Its Chief Justice is a Slaveholder. The Free States with double the population of the Slave State, do not have half the Judges. The majority represent a minority of 350,000. The minority represent a majority of twenty Millions!

…by gerrymandering the State, seven hundred Democratic votes were equal to one thousand Republican votes.

Every one of the state legislatures that sent delegates to Philadelphia was grossly malapportioned by any ‘one man, one vote’ standard, and the state conventions that ratified the Constitution were in every instance set up on the same rule of apportionment.

One man shall have one vote.

Recognition of the principle ‘one man, one vote’ as a constitutional one redeems the promise of self-governance by affirming the essential dignity of every citizen to equal participation in the democratic process.

Elections ought to be equal. Elections are equal, when a given number of citizens, in one part of the State, choose as many representatives, as are chosen by the same number of citizens, in any other part of the state.

Logically, in a society ostensibly grounded on representative government, it would seem reasonable that a majority of the people in a State would elect a majority of that State’s legislators.

Divide the Continent into four Divisions, out of which a certain number of persons should be nominated, and out of that nomination to appoint a Senate

No one ever asserts that politics has no role in apportionment or redistricting.

Just what is the light in which we are to regard the slaves? Are they admitted as citizens?" Then why are they not admitted on an equality with white citizens? Are they admitted as property? Then why is not other property admitted into the computation?