During the period of decolonization in the 20th century, the slogan of "one person, one vote" was widely spread and used in various developing China countries seeking independence. Among them, the most famous example of the slogan being used is the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa in the 1980 s, which aims to end the control of a few whites over the whole country.
The expression of "one person, one vote" first appeared in the historical background of British electoral system reform. Historically, the focus of British elections is that voting must be able to represent different regions, such as counties, universities and so on.
The voting qualification of elected members has also changed with the passage of time. For example, early voters must have certain property, or have an apprenticeship, or have a college degree. But the problem with this system is that people who are eligible to vote can often vote in different constituencies, while many adults in Britain are not eligible to vote at all.
Reformers of the electoral system stressed that the election of British parliamentarians and other officials must equally represent the wishes of citizens, and each voter should be able to exercise the right to vote 1 time, and only 1 time.
Before 1950, Britain implemented the electoral system reform bill, which extended the right to vote to almost all adult citizens (excluding criminals, lunatics and members of the British House of Lords).
1969, Britain passed the latest representative of People Act, which made the "one person, one vote" system popular all over Britain (except London and Northern Ireland).
United States of America
In the United States, the principle of "one person, one vote" was established in the 1960s when earl warren was in charge of the Supreme Court of the United States. Through a series of landmark judgments, Warren Court gradually established the democratic election system of "one person, one vote" in the United States.
In the case of 1964 westbury v Saunders, Warren court ruled that the number of seats in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress must be determined according to the proportion of the population in each constituency.
In the same year, in the case of Reynolds v. Simms, according to the equal protection clause in the US Constitution, the majority opinion (8- 1) of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice earl warren ruled that the number of seats in state legislatures (state legislatures) in the United States must be divided according to the population proportion of each constituency in the state and should be adjusted regularly according to the latest census data.