Dictionary Definition
ballot
Noun
1 a document listing the alternatives that is
used in voting
2 a choice that is made by voting; "there were
only 17 votes in favor of the motion" [syn: vote, voting, balloting] v : vote by ballot;
"The voters were balloting in this state"
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From ballotta, a small ball used to register a vote. Not voting. The ballota was a ball drawn from an urn to select at random, by lottery, a person for a role.Ref: See, for instance, p166 J J Norwich,
'History of Venice' Penguin 1983
Pronunciation
- /ˈbælət/, /"b
Extensive Definition
A ballot is a device
(originally a small ball — see blackball)
used to record choices made by voters. 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 to protect the secrecy of the
votes. The voter casts their ballot in a box at a
polling
station.
History
In ancient Greece, citizens used pieces of broken pottery to scratch in the name of the candidate in the procedures of ostracism. This was done because while parchment was expensive and had to be imported from Egypt, broken pottery was abundant and virtually free.The first use of paper ballots
to conduct an election appears to have been in Rome in
139
BC, and the first use of paper ballots in North America was in
1629 within
the Massachusetts
Bay Colony to select a pastor for the Salem
Church.
In the United
States initially paper ballots were pieces of paper marked and
supplied by voters. Later on, political parties and candidates
provided preprinted ballots for voters to cast.
The secret
ballot was first introduced in Australia in the
1850s.
Types of voting systems
Depending on the type of voting system used in the election, different ballots may be used. Ranked ballots allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference, while ballots for first-past-the-post systems only allow voters to select one candidate for each position. In party-list systems, lists may be open or closed.The United States has a unique
politics of long and short ballot. Before the Civil
War, many believed democracy was enhanced by
increasing the number of elective offices to include such
comparatively minor posts as the state-level secretary
of state, county
surveyor, register
of deeds, county
coroner, and city clerk. A
larger number of elected offices required longer ballots, and at
times the long ballot undoubtedly resulted in confusion and
blind
voting, though the seriousness of either problem can be
disputed. Reformers attacked the long ballot during the so-called
Progressive
Era (circa 1893–1917). In the United States today, the term
ballot
reform sometimes refers to efforts to reduce the number of
elected offices.
Design
Ballot design can aid or inhibit clarity in an election. Poor designs lead to confusion and potentially chaos if large numbers of voters spoil or mismark a ballot. The so-called butterfly ballot used in Florida in the U.S. presidential election, 2000 led to widespread allegations of mismarked ballots.Some political scientists
prefer more explicit statement of the voter's actual tolerances and
preferences, and believe that failure to reflect these in ballot
design and voting system alternatives causes many problems and
leads for calls for electoral
reform. For instance, a non-binding referendum or poll,
carried out on a ballot, carries much more weight than one carried
out with only a public sampling in a less politically committed
event than an election. For example, one might count the number of
ballots whereon the voter had crossed out the name of the political
party that nominated the candidate, even if (maybe only if)
that voter had voted for him or her. This would indicate support
for candidates but would be able to send signals to them that the
"party line" was not why that voter voted for them, but rather, she
or he expected them to act independently.
Such marking and counting
could be carried out on an ordinary ballot with no provision for
it, however, there would be risk of counting it as "spoiled" if the
marks were unclear, and if ballot design had not allowed for it
initially.
Methods
further Vote counting system- In a jurisdiction using a paper system, voters choose by marking a ballot. In most jurisdictions the ballots are pre-printed with names of candidates and the text of the referenda. The Philippines is an exception. There voters must write the names of their candidates on the ballot. Election officials manually count the ballots after the polls close and may be recount them in the event of a dispute.
- In a jurisdiction using an optical scan voting system, voters choose by filling an oval or by completing an arrow on the printed ballot next to their chosen candidate or referendum position. Optical scan technology has also been used by many standardized tests. Tabulating machines count the ballots either after the polls close or as the voters feed the ballots into the machine, in which case the results are not known until after the polls close. Officials often will manually count any ballots that cannot be read or with a write-in candidate and may recount the ballots in the event of a dispute.
- In a jurisdiction using a punch card system, voters choose by removing or "punching out" a perforated chad from the ballot next each choice. The ballot may be pre-printed with candidates and referenda, or may be a generic ballot placed under a printed list of candidates and referenda. A tabulating machines counts ballots after the polls closed. Officials may manually count the ballots in the event of a dispute. Punch card voting systems are being replaced by other voting systems because of a high rate of inaccuracy related to the incomplete removal of the perforated chad and the inaccessibility to voters with disabilities.
- In a jurisdiction using a mechanical voting system, often called a "voting machine", voters choose by pulling a lever next to their choice. There is a printed list of candidates, parties and referenda next to the levers indicating which lever is assigned to which choice. When the voter pulls a lever, it turns a connected gear in the machine, which turns a counter wheel. Each counter wheel shows a number, which is the number of votes cast using that lever. After the polls close, election officials check the wheels' positions and record the totals. No physical ballot is used in this system, except when the voter chooses to write-in a candidate. Other systems are replacing mechanical voting systems because they are inaccessible to disabled voters, do not have a physical ballot, are getting old, and other reasons.
- In a jurisdiction using an electronic direct record voting system (DRE), voters choose by pushing a button next to a printed list of candidates and referenda, or by touching the candidate or referenda box on a touchscreen interface. As the voter makes a selection, the DRE creates an electronic ballot stored by in the memory components of the system. After the polls close, the system counts the votes and reports the totals to the election officials. Many DREs include a communication device to transmit vote totals to a central tabulator. The touchscreen systems remind people of an automated teller machine (ATM) and often are described as such.
See also
References
ballot in Danish:
Stemmeseddel
ballot in German:
Stimmzettel
ballot in Indonesian: Surat
suara
ballot in Italian: Scheda
elettorale
ballot in Dutch:
Stembiljet
ballot in Russian:
Избирательный бюллетень
ballot in Swedish:
Valsedel
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Australian ballot, Hare
system, Indiana ballot, Massachusetts ballot, absentee ballot,
aye, blanket ballot,
canvass, canvassing, casting vote,
counting heads, cumulative voting, deciding vote, division, enfranchisement, fagot
vote, franchise,
graveyard vote, hand vote, list system, long ballot, nay, no, nonpartisan ballot,
nontransferable vote, office-block ballot, party emblem,
party-column ballot, plebiscite, plebiscitum, plumper, plural vote, poll, polling, preferential voting,
proportional representation, proxy, record vote, referendum, representation, right to
vote, rising vote, sample ballot, say, secret ballot, short ballot,
show of hands, single vote, slate, snap vote, split ticket,
straight ticket, straw vote, suffrage, ticket, transferable vote, viva
voce, voice, voice vote,
vote, vote in, voting, voting right, write-in,
write-in vote, yea, yeas and
nays, yes