Faggot Votes

Faggot votes. A faggot vote is where a man is formally possessed of a right to vote for a member of Parliament, without possessing the substance which the vote should represent; as if he is enabled to buy a property, and at the same moment mortgage it to its full value for the mere sake of the vote; such a vote is called a faggot vote. The (English) Reform Bill of 1832 contained provisions which were directed against faggot voters. The Representation of the People Act, 1884, carried such provisions still further. Since the Representation of the People Act, 1918, the subject of faggot votes has become a matter of historical interest only.