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A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting.[1] It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th century.[2]
Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed ballots to protect the secrecy of the votes. The voter casts their ballot in a box at a polling station.
In British English, this is usually called a "ballot paper".[3] The word ballot is used for an election process within an organization (such as a trade union "holding a ballot" of its members).
^"Ballot". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
^"Ballot | Origin and meaning of ballot by Online Etymology Dictionary". Archived from the original on 2020-06-28. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
^"Ballot". Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary. Retrieved 2012-11-07.[permanent dead link]
A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball...
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A ballot box is a temporarily sealed container, usually a square box though sometimes a tamper resistant bag, with a narrow slot in the top sufficient...
or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter...
Ballot access are rules and procedures regulating the right to candidacy, the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is...
An open ballot system is a voting method in which voters vote openly, in contrast to a secret ballot, where a voter's choices are confidential. The open...
and also known as plebiscite, votation, popular consultation, ballot question, ballot measure, or proposition. Some definitions of 'plebiscite' suggest...
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Ballot exhaustion occurs when a voter's ballot can no longer be counted, because all candidates supported on that ballot have been eliminated from an election...
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voters to cast the ballots, which may be simple single-choice ballots, but other types, such as multiple choice or ranked ballots may also be used. Then...
The list of Oregon ballot measures lists all statewide ballot measures to the present. In Oregon, the initiative and referendum process dates back to 1902...
The exhaustive ballot is a voting system used to elect a single winner. Under the exhaustive ballot the elector casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated...
introduction of electronic voting, paper ballots were used and manual counting was done. The printed paper ballots were expensive, required substantial post-voting...
they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be an incumbent on the ballot: the previous holder may have died, retired, resigned; they may not seek...
Green Party of Alaska, despite having ballot access, did not place the GPUS nominee Howie Hawkins on the ballot. 1996 and 2000 presidential campaigns...
In California, a ballot proposition is a referendum or an initiative measure that is submitted to the electorate for a direct decision or direct vote (or...
from first, second, third, and onwards—on their ballots. Ranked voting systems vary based on the ballot marking process, how preferences are tabulated...
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