malapportioned

[ mal-uh-pawr-shuhnd, -pohr- ]

adjective

1. (of a state or other political unit) poorly apportioned, especially divided, organized, or structured in a manner that prevents large sections of a population from having equitable representation in a legislative body.

Other Words From

• malap·portion·ment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of malapportioned¹

First recorded in 1960–65; mal- + apportioned ( def )

Example Sentences

Instead, serious political reform — including the Democrats’ stalled voting rights bill — depends on changing the extra-constitutional yet entrenched Senate filibuster in the most malapportioned upper house in the developed world.

From Washington Post

Nobody wants to see members of the Biden administration setting themselves ablaze screaming that doom is anon, but the persistent message that everything will be taken care of by bipartisan cooperation between one party that believes in government and one that believes in malapportioned, nihilist, racist election subversion is in fact contributing to the failure of government.

From Slate

And it's not OK to have a state legislature so malapportioned that rural towns were able to dominate the increasingly populous cities in Rhode Island.

From Salon

In fact, the state’s current maps are worse than gerrymandered—they are malapportioned, with wildly uneven populations across legislative and congressional districts.

From Slate

These malapportioned maps were discriminatory in both intent and effect.

From Slate