ballot
BAL-ut
/ˈbælət/
A system or process of secret voting, or the paper slip or digital interface used to register a vote.
Focuses specifically on the official document or confidential process of recording choices.
The story behind the word. From Italian 'ballotta', meaning 'little ball'. In Renaissance Venice, voters dropped small colored balls into urns to record secret decisions without revealing individual choices.
Word relationships
- vote: 'Vote' is the general term for an expression of opinion, while 'ballot' specifically emphasizes the written or physical voting tool.
- poll: 'Poll' usually refers to the place of voting or an opinion survey, whereas 'ballot' is the actual voting slip or procedure.
- voice vote: A 'voice vote' is public and verbal, whereas a 'ballot' is traditionally written and secret.
Commonly confused with
- ballet: 'Ballet' is an artistic theatrical dance, whereas 'ballot' is a voting instrument.
Word family
- balloting (noun): The system or act of voting by ballot.
Collocations
- cast a ballot
- secret ballot
- ballot box
- ballot measure
Idioms & expressions
- ballot-box stuffing
Example sentences
- "Volunteers stayed late into the evening to count every paper ballot cast in the election." Student council election night
- "Students cast their secret ballot online using a secure portal provided by the university." Campus newspaper report
Memory hook
Picture dropping a small metal BALL (ballot) into a box to vote secretly. Little balls casting secret votes.
When not to use
Do not confuse with a simple show of hands or an informal verbal head-count.
Fun facts
- In ancient Athens, voters scratched candidate names onto broken pottery pieces called 'ostraca'—the origin of the word 'ostracize'!
Related words
Explore more words
suffrage, proxy, disenfranchise, collusion, constituent, initiative
Also appears in
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