Ballot

Updated on Dec 03, 2023

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A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election, and may be a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions 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 preprinted ballots to protect the secrecy of the votes. The voter casts his/her ballot in a box at a polling station.

In British English, this is usually called a "ballot paper". The word ballot is used for an election process within an organisation (such as a trade union "holding a ballot" of its members).

Etymology

The word ballot comes from Italian ballotta, meaning a “small ball used in voting” or a “secret vote taken by ballots” in Venice, Italy.

History

In ancient Greece, citizens used pieces of broken pottery to scratch in the name of the candidate in the procedures of ostracism.

The first use of paper ballots to conduct an election appears to have been in Rome in 139 BC.

In Ancient India, around 920 AD, in Tamil Nadu, Palm leaves were used for village assembly elections. The palm leaves with candidate names, will be put inside a mud pot, for counting. This was called Kudavolai system.

The first use of paper ballots in America was in 1629 within the Massachusetts Bay Colony to select a pastor for the Salem Church. Paper ballots were pieces of paper marked and supplied by voters.

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, a republic, has a unique politics of long and short ballot. Before the Civil War, many believed governmental effectiveness 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 has been suggested to have resulted in donkey voting and confusion, though the seriousness of either problem can be disputed. Progressivists attacked the long ballot during the Progressive Era (circa 1893–1917).

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 butterfly ballot used in the Palm Beach County, Florida U.S. presidential election, 2000 (a ballot paper that has names down both sides, with a single column of punch holes in the center, which has been likened to a maze) led to widespread allegations of mismarked ballots.

Some political scientists prefer more explicit statements 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 to 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

In a jurisdiction using a paper system, voters choose by marking a ballot or, as in the case of Israel and France, picking one pre-marked ballot from among many. In most jurisdictions the ballots are pre-printed with names of candidates and the text of the referenda. The Philippines (until 2007) and Japan are 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 recounted 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. Voters with disabilities may be provided with electronic ballot marking devices. 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 punched card system, voters choose by removing or "punching out" a perforated chad from the ballot next each choice, sometimes with tools as simple as a pin, but usually with a ballot marking device such as the Votomatic. 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. Tabulating machines count ballots after the polls close. Officials may manually count the ballots in the event of a dispute. Punched 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 and are getting old.

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.

Bonser is a method allowing the voter more than two choices for a proposition. Choices of red, yellow and green can indicate disapproval, requirement for more clarity and approval, for example.

References

Ballot Wikipedia

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