This was an actual thing that existed in the UK before the secret ballot and other democratic reforms, when you could effectively own an entire electoral distri

This was an actual thing that existed in the UK before the secret ballot and other democratic reforms, when you could effectively own an entire electoral district. They were called "pocket boroughs", i.e. they were in a patron's pocket. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_and_pocket_boroughs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_and_pocket_boroughs