Alabama Constitution Section 201 State may provide for enumeration of inhabitants for purpose of apportionment of representatives and senators
🔹 Alabama Constitution – Section 201
Title: State may provide for enumeration of inhabitants for purpose of apportionment of representatives and senators
🔍 Explanation:
Section 201 gives the State of Alabama the constitutional authority to:
Conduct its own enumeration (or count) of the population,
for the specific purpose of legislative apportionment—
that is, deciding how many representatives and senators each district or area gets in the state legislature.
📘 Key Concepts:
Enumeration = Population Count
This can be done independently of the U.S. Census.
The state may choose to conduct its own count if it wants more up-to-date or detailed data for redistricting.
Apportionment
Means dividing legislative seats fairly among different counties or districts based on population size.
More people in a region = more representatives or senators in the legislature.
Why This Section Exists
To give Alabama flexibility in ensuring fair and accurate representation, especially in case federal census data is outdated or insufficient.
Helps the state maintain equal representation as populations grow or shift.
⚖️ Legal and Political Importance:
This section supports the principle of “one person, one vote” by allowing the state to update legislative boundaries as population changes.
It’s crucial in redistricting and preventing malapportionment (where some districts have way more people per representative than others).
🧠 In Simple Words:
Alabama can count its own people (not just rely on the U.S. Census) if it needs to fairly divide legislative seats across the state based on population.
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