Harris v. Shanahan

The opinion of the court was delivered by This action attacks the apportionment of the senate and house
of representatives of the Kansas legislature. The appeal is from
the order and judgment of the district court holding G.S. 1949,
4-102, relating to the seats in the senate, and G.S. 1961 Supp.,
4-103, relating to the seats in multi-district counties of the
house, to be unconstitutional and void; enjoining the secretary
of state and various county election officials from performing
any acts relating to the election of senators and representatives
under those statutes, and ordering that the primary and general
elections for seats in the senate be held on a state-wide basis
and on a county-wide basis for the seats in the house of
representatives in all multi-district counties. When originally filed on November 1, 1961, the petition
contained three causes of action. The first cause of action
attacked the apportionment of senatorial districts. The second
cause of action alleged that Article 2, Section 2, and Article
10, Section 1, apportioning the state into 105 representative
districts on a geographical basis, that is, one to each county
regardless of population, leaving only 20 seats to be apportioned
on the basis of population, constituted a discriminatory
apportionment of the house of representatives and denied the
right of equal participation in the processes of state government
and denied a vote and representation equal or substantially equal
to that of citizens and qualified electors residing in counties
and house districts with a disportionately smaller population and
constituted an abridgement of the constitutional rights of
plaintiffs and all other citizens and qualified electors
similarly situated in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Bill
of Rights of the Kansas Constitution, Article 4, Section 4 of the
Constitution of the United States, and the Fourteenth Amendment
thereto which prohibits a state from depriving any person of
life, liberty or property without due process of law or denying
to any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the
laws. The third cause of action, alternative if no relief be
granted on the second cause of action, related to multi-district
seats in the house of representatives from counties having more
than one legislative district. Subsequently and before trial,
plaintiffs dismissed their second cause of action and trial was
had on the first and third causes of action only.