Dallas County v. Reese, 421 U.S. 477 (1975)

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

Syllabus

The Alabama statutory system providing for countywide balloting for each of the four members of the Dallas County Commission, but requiring that a member be elected from each of the four residency districts, is not unconstitutional though the populations of the four districts vary widely, with the result that only one Selma resident can be a commission member, although the city contains about one-half of the county’s population. Fortson v. Dorsey, 379 U.S. 433; Dusch v. Davis, 387 U.S. 112. Because the districts are used "merely as the basis of residence for candidates, not for voting or representation," Fortson, supra, at 438; Dusch, supra, at 115, each commissioner represents the citizens of the entire county, and not merely those of the district in which he resides. While a system of unequal residency districts is not immune in all circumstances from constitutional attack, the Court of Appeals did not base its decision on the factual conclusions necessary to support a successful challenge in particular cases.

505 F.2d 879, reversed and remanded.