Cite as: 588 U. S. ____ (2019)
29
Opinion of the Court
ence gives content to terms such as “substantial risk” or
“substantial harm,” but the same cannot be said of substantial deviation from a median map. There is no way to
tell whether the prohibited deviation from that map
should kick in at 25 percent or 75 percent or some other
point. The only provision in the Constitution that specifically addresses the matter assigns it to the political
branches. See Art. I, §4, cl. 1.
D
The North Carolina District Court further concluded
that the 2016 Plan violated the Elections Clause and
Article I, §2. We are unconvinced by that novel approach.
Article I, §2, provides that “[t]he House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second
Year by the People of the several States.” The Elections
Clause provides that “[t]he Times, Places and Manner of
holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall
be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but
the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.”
Art. I, §4, cl. 1.
The District Court concluded that the 2016 Plan exceeded
the North Carolina General Assembly’s Elections Clause
authority because, among other reasons, “the Elections
Clause did not empower State legislatures to disfavor the
interests of supporters of a particular candidate or party
in drawing congressional districts.” 318 F. Supp. 3d, at
937. The court further held that partisan gerrymandering
infringes the right of “the People” to select their representatives. Id., at 938–940. Before the District Court’s
decision, no court had reached a similar conclusion. In
fact, the plurality in Vieth concluded—without objection
from any other Justice—that neither §2 nor §4 of Article I
“provides a judicially enforceable limit on the political
considerations that the States and Congress may take into