Ballot

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).

  1. ^ "Ballot". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  2. ^ "Ballot | Origin and meaning of ballot by Online Etymology Dictionary". Archived from the original on 2020-06-28. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  3. ^ "Ballot". Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary. Retrieved 2012-11-07.[permanent dead link]