Question: what does one person one vote one value mean

title: One man, one vote
text: Some states redrew their U.S. House districts every ten years to reflect changes in population patterns ; many did not . Some never redrew them , except when it was mandated by a change in the number of seats to which that state was entitled in the House of Representatives . In many states , this led to a skewing of influence for voters in some districts over those in others . For example , if the 2nd congressional district eventually had a population of 1.5 million , but the 3rd had only 500,000 , then , in effect -- since each district elected the same number of representatives -- a voter in the 3rd district had three times the voting `` power '' of a 2nd - district voter . Alabama 's state legislature resisted redistricting from 1910 to 1972 ( when forced by federal court order ) . As a result , rural residents retained a wildly disproportionate amount of power in a time when other areas of the state became urbanized and industrialized , attracting greater populations . Such urban areas were under - represented in the state legislature and underserved ; their residents had difficulty getting needed funding for infrastructure and services . They paid far more in taxes to the state than they received in benefits in relation to the population .