Elections & terms
one person, one vote
The rule that legislative districts must hold nearly equal populations, so a vote in one district carries roughly the same weight as a vote in another.
In full
Baker v. Carr (1962) made districting reviewable in federal court, and Reynolds v. Sims (1964) required equal population for state legislative seats. Congressional districts are held to a stricter standard than state ones. The Senate is the deliberate exception: equal representation by state is written into the Constitution and shielded from amendment without a state's consent.
Also written as: malapportionment
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.