(1962) U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the Tennessee legislature to reapportion itself on the basis of population.
The case ended the traditional overrepresentation of rural areas in the legislature and established that the court may intervene in apportionment cases. The court ruled that every citizen's vote should carry equal weight, regardless of the voter's place of residence. Its ruling in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) built on Baker by requiring virtually every state legislature to be reapportioned, ultimately causing political power in most states to shift from rural to urban areas.