Your vote counts the same as theirs — or does it?

In Spain, not all votes carry the same weight when it comes to allocating parliamentary seats: less populated provinces elect more members of parliament per inhabitant than the large ones. That is not fraud — it is the design of the electoral law.

The idea that some people's votes are worth more than others' is not bar-room talk. It is a mathematical consequence of the Spanish electoral system, and these days it is circulating again on social media with the message that some votes weigh more than others purely by institutional design.

## What the electoral law says

The Constitution sets a minimum of **two seats** per province and distributes the rest according to population. With **350 seats** in the Congress, that floor guarantees that provinces like **Soria** or **Teruel** have representation that is disproportionate to their electorate.

The result is that a seat in a small province costs far fewer votes than one in **Madrid** or **Barcelona**. It is not a flaw: it is how the law is written.

## Why some votes weigh more

In large constituencies, allocation under the **D'Hondt method** requires clearing high thresholds and concentrating votes to win a seat. In small ones, with three or four seats at stake, an organised minority is enough to get in.

That means a vote cast in **Soria** can translate into representation with fewer ballots than one cast in a densely populated province. The difference is not a matter of opinion: it can be calculated.

## A debate with consequences

The claim that "your vote counts the same as theirs" clashes with that design. Changing it would require reforming the **Constitution** and the **LOREG** (Spain's electoral law), something no government has seriously tackled.

Meanwhile, the system continues to favour the least populated territories. Knowing this does not invalidate your vote, but it helps explain why some parties concentrate their campaigning where each seat costs less.