64 Men, 1 Vote

Lani Guinier suggested that the vote of certain people should sometimes count more than the votes of others. Strangely enough, that’s the system we have right now: each state has two Senators, regardless of population, and the voters in House Speaker Tom Foley’s congressional district, say, wield disproportionate influence over the nation. Using the authoritative Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call’s formula (which factors in seniority, committee chairmanships, committee assignments and so on) we have devised the Congressional Clout per Capita Index. It seems one Montanan is worth 64 Californians.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE

CREDIT: TIME Graphic by Steve Hart

CAPTION: STATE

CONGRESSIONAL CLOUT PER CAPITA INDEX