The City of Margaret City Council Districts violate the ‘one person, one vote’ principle
(Birmingham, AL) – January 24, 2025: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed a lawsuit against the City of Margaret, AL for violating the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The extreme population imbalances in the city council district plan violate the 14th Amendment’s “one person, one vote” principle.
According to the Regional Planning Commission for Greater Birmingham, the total voting-age population for each district is:
- District 1: 487
- District 2: 304
- District 3: 357
- District 4: 1,599
- District 5: 892
District 4 is more than 400% more populous than the voting-age population of District 2.
The 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause prohibits the election of government officials from electing officials from districts of disparate populations.
The City of Margaret has not redistricted in more than 25 years,” said PILF President J. Christian Adams. “Over those 25 years, the population has dramatically shifted. The city’s current districts dilute the votes of voters. The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits voters in one district from having more power than voters in another district. Equal Protection is the law of the land.”
The Public Interest Legal Foundation has been part of groundbreaking redistricting case law. The Foundation represented Galveston County, Texas in its lawsuit that overturned coalition districts in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. This means in the Fifth Circuit the Voting Rights Act may not be used as a racial and political weapon.
The attorneys for the Public Interest Legal Foundation in this case against the City of Margaret are Noel Johnson, Kaylan Phillips, Maureen Riordan, Samuel Swanson, and Christian Adams.
In this lawsuit, the Foundation is representing a group of Margaret residents who are unconstitutionally injured by the City’s existing district plan.
Read the full complaint here.
###