Pickens v. Board of Apportionment, 4-9781

• Decision Date: 25 February 1952
• Docket Number: No. 4-9781,4-9781
• Citation: 220 Ark. 145,246 S.W.2d 556
• Parties: PICKENS et al. v. BOARD OF APPORTIONMENT.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 556

246 S.W.2d 556

220 Ark. 145

PICKENS et al. v. BOARD OF APPORTIONMENT.

No. 4-9781.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Feb. 25, 1952.

Byron Goodson, DeQueen, for appellants.

Ike Murry, Atty. Gen., Cleveland Holland, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

GRIFFIN SMITH, Chief Justice.

In a cause styled Smith v. The Board of Apportionment, Ark., 243 S.W.2d 755, the directive was that Pulaski county, or the senatorial district of which it became a part, be given at least three senators. This was thought necessary, as the opinion reflects, because the 1950 census disclosed a county population of 196,685, the population of the state was 1,909,511, and the Thirteenth district embracing Pulaski county alone was under-represented from a numerical standpoint by a percentage equation of 80.26.

Amendment No. 23 to the Constitution requires the Board to divide the state into convenient senatorial districts 'in such manner as that the Senate shall be based upon the inhabitants of the State, each Senator representing as nearly as practicable, an equal number thereof; [and] each district shall have at lease one Senator'. Primary requisites are that the Senate shall be composed of 35 members and no county shall be divided.

In the case decided in December it was found that when 1,909,511 is divided by 35 the nearest whole number is 54,557; hence the ideal district, considered from a mathematical standpoint only, would have a population of 54,557. But the Amendment very wisely provides that convenience be given consideration, and that districts be composed of contiguous counties. A statement in our former opinion is that the Supreme Court has power to perform the work involved in revision. But it was also said that because of the Board's constitutionally-imposed duties--a merger of legislative and administrative functions--the controversy should be remanded to allow that agency to consummate the reapportionment process--a consequential necessity when the Thirteenth district was given a third Senator. The record showed inequalities other than those complained of by the two petitioners.

A day after the Court's decision was handed down the Board met and made certain changes affecting western and southwestern counties or districts. Under the reapportionment of 1937, still effective as to district constituency in 1951, the Fifth district was composed of Scott, Polk, and Logan counties, with a combined population of 44,499 in 1950. By the Board's action of December 4th Logan was taken from this district and put with Yell and Pope to form the Eighth district, with a population of 57,608. Montgomery was taken from the Ninth district and combined with Scott, Polk, Sevier, and Little River, to comprise a new Fifth district with a population of 54,902--ideal from a numerical standpoint, but objectionable to petitioners in this case for other reasons.

It was alleged that the distance from northern to southern boundaries of the district thus created was more that 150 miles, and that Howard county's northwestern corner was less that ten miles from Oklahoma-- a territorial impediment that, from a practical standpoint, cut the district into separate areas. Howard county, formerly in the Sixth district with Sevier and Little River, was merged with Pike and Hempstead to form the Ninth district. No other changes were made except in the Thirteenth district where the mandate for three senators was followed. Effect of the Board's action was to reduce the number of districts from 34 to 33.

Section 5 of Amendment 23 allows 30 days for appeals from the Board. The petition before us was filed in a timely manner; but the Court, sensitive to a state-wide concern and hoping for constructive suggestions, announced January 21st that interested persons would be given until February 11th to file briefs. This necessarily meant that any proposed regrouping not inconsistent with the Court's previous opinion would be considered. With the exception of the Attorney General's brief none has been received.

When the cause was remanded percentage discrepancies were pointed to, the greatest (other than the old Thirteenth district) being in the Thirtieth--Mississippi county alone. The phenomenal growth of this agriculturally-rich county has been such that when the 1950 census figures were released the population had increased to 82,375; and, senatorially, it was underrepresented 50.99%.

The Twenty-third district came next--Jefferson county. There the population was 76,075, and the under-representation was 39.44%.

The combined population of Garland and Saline counties, the Fourteenth district, was 70,918, an under-representation of 29.99%.

The Sixth district--Howard, Sevier, and Little River counties--with a population of 37,325, was over-represented 31.59%.

The Eighth district--Pope and Yell counties--with an enumeration of 37,348, was over-represented 31.54%.

Other districts were over- or under-represented considerably more than 20%.

Through integration of counties into districts which, on paper, appears wholly appropriate, the mathematical differential can be cut to a point where the variant will in no instance be greater than 10%, plus a slight fraction. Some districts would be so near 54,557 that the difference would be but .30%. Several would be over or under by less than 1%, and half a dozen others would not exceed 3%. But to do this the number of districts would have to be reduced to 21, and boundary changes in practically all of the existing districts would be brought about. It could logically be urged that such a radical reduction in numbers, resulting in the assignment of two Senators to each of nine districts, three to one, four to one, and one to each of the other ten, would conform to the constitutional idea of approximate mathematical equality.

We are not unmindful of the Board's difficulties in redistricting. No doubt the members who concurred in the December 4th result believed that when all phases of the problem were considered the disparity in population between the two extremes was not sufficient to justify inconveniences that would necessarily attend complete reassignment of counties to districts. Something of the same problem confronts the Court. It is not inappropriate to say that not one of the judges is entirely satisfied with all district arrangements; but it is imperative that the matter be now disposed of, hence individual preferences must yield to necessity.

Although our opinions differ, fundamentals have not been sacrificed. The first essential is that Mississippi county's Thirtieth district is under-represented 50.99%. In the Clyde E. Smith case involving Pulaski county's Thirteenth district we found it necessary to say that under-representation of 80.26% required action by the Board or this Court; but even with three Senators the Pulaski county district will have 33,014 people who are not represented in mathematical proportions. Believing, as we earnestly do, that the purpose of Amendment 23 was to correct inequalities such as exist in the Thirtieth district, and in other districts in lesser degrees, we have concluded that the most practical means of meeting the difficulty is to merge Mississippi, Craighead and Poinsett counties into a new district and assign to it three Senators. Each will represent 57,433 persons from a theoretical point of view; and even...