A political system formerly employed in some states, primarily in the American South, allocated votes in primary elections based not on population but rather on a system of county-based units. In this structure, each county was assigned a specific number of unit votes, and the candidate receiving a plurality of the popular vote within that county would then receive all of the county’s unit votes. This contrasts sharply with a one-person, one-vote approach, where each individual vote carries equal weight.
The impact of this system was significant, as it often disproportionately empowered rural counties with smaller populations, allowing them to exert influence beyond their actual demographic representation. This frequently resulted in candidates focusing their campaigns on securing the support of these less-populated areas, potentially neglecting the needs and concerns of more densely populated urban centers. Historically, the system served to maintain the power of certain political factions and interests, and its eventual dismantling was often tied to legal challenges asserting violations of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
