ballot
BAL-ut
/ˈbælət/
A device (paper sheet, electronic system, or card) used to cast a secret vote, or the total number of votes cast in an election.
Emphasizes the formal, official, and secret process of casting votes.
The story behind the word. In Renaissance Venice, magistrates were elected by dropping small colored balls ('ballotta', diminutive of 'balla' or ball) into urns. A white ball meant approval, while a black ball meant rejection. The word moved into French as 'ballotte' and English as 'ballot', shifting from physical balls to paper slips.
Word relationships
- vote: 'Vote' is the abstract act or choice; 'ballot' refers to the physical or electronic instrument used to record that vote.
Commonly confused with
- poll: A poll can mean a survey of opinions or the polling location; a ballot is the actual vote-recording document or mechanism.
Word family
- balloting (noun): The system or act of voting by ballot.
Collocations
- cast a ballot
- secret ballot
- ballot box
- absentee ballot
- ballot paper
Idioms & expressions
- on the ballot
- ballot measure
Example sentences
- "Voters cast their ballot in secret voting booths across the city." News reporting
- "The committee decided to conduct a secret ballot to ensure unbiased decision-making." Legislative procedure
Memory hook
BALL-ot: Originates from dropping a small BALL into a box to vote secretly. Your secret ticket in an election.
When not to use
Do not use 'ballot' to refer to informal voice votes or show-of-hands voting.
Fun facts
- The practice of dropping a black ball to vote against someone gives us the modern English verb 'to blacklist' or 'to blackball'!
Related words
Explore more words
suffrage, proxy, disenfranchise, collusion, constituent, initiative
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