Reynolds v. Sims

In Reynolds v. Sims (1964), 377 U.S. 533, 535, 84 S. Ct. 1362, 12 L. Ed. 2d 506, the weight of the vote was found to be diluted for some citizens due to a failure to reapportion districts as required. Id. at 557. The Court's dilution analysis focused on voting power, majority rule and the doctrine of one man/one vote, proclaiming that a man's vote in a rural area should not be worth ten times a man's vote in an urban area. Id. at 562-563. These doctrines have nothing to do with the situation before us. Moreover, the Reynolds Court also limited its holding to statewide elections where all voters are voting for the same candidate or issue. Id. at 560.