In a decision likely to upset conservatives, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that immigrants and prisoners have to be counted for the purpose of drawing political maps, even if they can’t legally vote.
Essentially, this decision means that when a state draws its congressional map, the districts need to have around the same number of people, not the same number of people eligible to vote, writes the New York Times. So if an area is especially populated with young people, immigrants or prisoners, it would end up with the same representation as an area with the same number of people but far more voters.
The case, Evenwel v. Abbott, emerged from Texas, reports the Wall Street Journal. There, conservative activists said it wasn’t fair for big cities like Houston, which have higher immigrant populations to get more representation than rural areas with fewer citizens who were not eligible to vote.
All eight justices on the court voted to affirm the practice. Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote the opinion of the court and Samuel Alito wrote a concurring opinion.