WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court unanimously upheld Monday a policy in Puerto Rico and more than a dozen states of allowing a political party to fill mid-term legislative vacancies without a special election.
The 9-0 decision, affirming a lower court order, allows the Popular Democratic Party to keep its one-seat edge in Puerto Rico's House of Representatives.
It also has significance for states that practice the theory that a 'seat belongs to the party' when it becomes vacant before the end of a legislative term.
Chief Justice Warren Burger, writing for the court, said it was 'not unreasonable for the Puerto Rico legislature, in establishing an appointment system for filling legislative vacancies, to make provision for continuity of party representation.'
'Absent some clear constitutional limitation, Puerto Rico is free to structure its political system to meet its special concerns and political circumstances,' he wrote.
Besides approving of parties retaining control of an empty legislative seat, the justices also found no fault of filling vacancies by appointment instead of a full-scale special election.
'The interim appointment system plainly serves the legitimate purpose of ensuring that vacancies are filled promptly, without necessity of the expense and inconvenience of a special election.
'The Constitution does not preclude this practical and widely accepted means of addressing an infrequent problem.'
The dispute began when 10 voters of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives District No. 31 challenged the way a replacement was selected for Rep. Ramon Muniz, a member of the Popular Democratic Party who died in January 1981, leaving nearly a full four-year term vacant.
The voters, who are not members of Muniz' party, contended their constitutional rights were violated because the Puerto Rico Supreme Court allowed only candidates and members of the Popular Democratic Party to select the replacement.
In their appeal to the high court, the voters had argued the successor system abridged their right to vote, violated the 'one man, one vote' principle and restricted their freedom of political association.
The high court's ruling was a victory for the Popular Democratic Party, which had been represented by former Justice Abe Fortas. Fortas argued the case before the high court last March, only two weeks before he died April 5 at age 71.
