William O. Douglas

“ The concept of 'we the people' under the Constitution visualizes no preferred class of voters but equality among those who meet the basic qualifications. The idea that every voter is equal to every other voter in his State, when he casts his ballot in favor of one of several competing candidates, underlies many of our decisions. ”

“ The assumption implicit in these conclusions is that since equality is not inherent in the electoral college and since precise equality among blocs of votes in one State or in the several States when it comes to the election of members of the House of Representatives is never possible, precise equality is not necessary in statewide elections. ”

“ The conception of political equality from the Declaration of Independence, to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, to the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and Nineteenth Amendments can mean only one thing-one person, one vote.
While we agree with the District Court on most phases of the case and think it was right in enjoining the use of the county unit system [12] in tabulating the votes, we vacate its judgment and remand the case so that a decree in conformity with our opinion may be entered. ”

“ Hamilton expressed the philosophy behind the electoral college in The Federalist No. 68. 'This process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of president, will seldom fall to the lot of any man, who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue and the little arts of popularity may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single state ”

“ In addition, in order to be nominated in the first primary, a candidate has to receive a majority of the popular votes unless there are only two candidates for the nomination and each receives an equal number of unit votes, in which event the candidate with the popular majority wins. If no candidate receives both a majority of the unit votes and a majority of the popular votes, a second run-off primary is required between the candidate receiving the highest number of unit votes and the candidate receiving the highest number of popular votes. ”

“ Moreover the District Court held that use of the county unit system in counting the votes in a statewide election was permissible 'if the disparity against any county is not in excess of the disparity that exists * * * under the equal proportions formula for representation of the several states in the Congress.' Ibid. ”