Oregon Advisory Opinions April 10, 1951: OAG 51-70 (April 10, 1951)
Collection: Oregon Attorney General Opinions
Docket: OAG 51-70
Date: April 10, 1951
Advisory Opinion Text
OAG 51-70.
Hall of Representatives
Dear Sir: You have submitted to me a copy of a proposed bill relating to the apportionment of legislative representatives and have requested my opinion as to its constitutionality.
Section 1, subsection (2) (a), of the bill, is as follows:
"(2) Representatives shall be apportioned in the following manner:
"(a) One representative is apportioned to each county."
It is apparent from the above section of the bill that it would allocate or apportion to each county one representative regardless of the population of such county.
Article IV, § 6, Oregon constitution, is as follows:
"The number of senators and representatives shall, at the session next following an enumeration of the inhabitants by the United States or this state, be fixed by law, and apportioned among the several counties according to the number of white population in each. And the ratio of senators and representatives shall be determined by dividing the whole number of white population of such county or district, by such respective ratios; and when a fraction shall result from such division, which shall exceed one-half of said ratio, such county or district shall be entitled to a member for such fraction. And in case any county shall not have the requisite population to entitle such county to a member, then such county shall be attached to some adjoining county for senatorial or representative purposes. " (Emphasis supplied)
The purpose of this section is clear, that is, in choosing senators or representatives of the state of Oregon the electorate shall be equally represented in so far as it is practically possible to formulate a plan for such equality. The section provides that the ratio of representatives shall be determined by dividing the total number of the white population, according to an enumeration of the inhabitants by the United States or this state, by the total number of representatives, which at the present time is 60. Once this ratio is established a county shall be entitled to one representative providing the population exceeds one-half of the determined ratio and where the county "shall not have the requisite population to entitle such county to a member, then such county shall be attached to some adjoining county for senatorial or representative purposes."
The supreme court of Indiana in the case of Parker v. State, 32 N.E. 836, 18 L.R.A. 567, 573, construing the apportionment provisions of the Indiana constitution, from which the Oregon constitution was taken, stated as follows:
"* * * The purpose in requiring the enumeration is to fix the number of voters in each county at the time the apportionment is made, in order that the Legislature may form districts so as to secure to each voter, as nearly as may be, an equal voice with every other voter in the state in the selection of senators and representatives. The cardinal principle of free representative government, that the electors shall have equal weight in exercising the right of suffrage, is recognized and secured. Representation according to the population is the rule fixed by these several provisions of our Constitution, and the General Assembly has no more discretion, in our opinion, to disregard this rule, than it has to disregard any other plain provision found in that instrument. * * *"
In so far as the proposed bill attempts to arbitrarily assign one representative to each county it conflicts with Article IV, § 6, of the constitution, quoted above and is therefore invalid.