rotten borough
noun
: an election district that has many fewer inhabitants than other election districts with the same voting power
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The corrupt system meant that some sparsely populated British towns (known as rotten boroughs) had multiple members of Parliament, while bustling industrial centers like Birmingham and Manchester had none.
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Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Dec. 2023
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Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Dec. 2023
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“Rotten borough.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rotten%20borough. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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