unit rule
US Politics
noun
A procedure for allocating votes that obliges all of a state's representatives to vote the same way, typically for a candidate supported by the majority of constituents.
- Originating in national conventions for the Democratic Party during the 19th cent., the term has since been applied in other contexts, most prominently to voting in the electoral college, where the procedure is used by 48 states and the District of Columbia..
Origin
Mid 19th century.