Baker v. Carr (1962) linked redistricting to which constitutional guarantee?

• A. Due Process
• B. Equal Protection
• C. Commerce Clause
• D. Supremacy Clause

Answer: (B)

This question tests how voting equality is protected in redistricting. Baker v. Carr (1962) established that disputes over how legislative districts are drawn fall under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The key idea is that each citizen’s vote should have roughly the same weight; when district populations are greatly unequal, some votes count more than others, meaning people aren’t being treated equally under the law. Because malapportioned districts dilute votes, the case made these redistricting challenges justiciable in federal courts and tied them to equal protection, leading to the celebrated principle of “one person, one vote.”

The other options don’t capture that link. Due Process is about fair procedures in legal matters, not ensuring equal voting power. The Commerce Clause governs economic activity between states, and the Supremacy Clause sets federal law above state law, but neither is the constitutional guarantee most directly connected to redistricting in this context.