Ballot

A ballot is a system used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was invented in Italy around the 16th century.

Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot might be a scrap of paper. The voter casts their ballot in a box at a polling station.

In British English, this is usually called a "ballot paper".

Ballot Media

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  Ballot being dropped into a ballot box during the Finnish presidential election

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  Ancient Greek ostraca, 5th century BC, Ancient Agora Museum in Athens, housed in the Stoa of Attalus

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  Ancient Greek bronze secret ballots used to cast a juror's vote on a case, 3rd century BC, Ancient Agora Museum in Athens, housed in the Stoa of Attalus

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  1864 ballot of the National Union Party (United States)

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  Ballot for the 2016 election of the Australian House of Representatives, using instant-runoff voting. Voters rank candidates in order of preference.

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  Ballot from the 2021 German federal election, using mixed-member proportional representation. Voters choose a candidate (left, in black) and a party (right, in blue).

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  Ballot from a 2015 municipal election in Austria, using party list proportional representation. Voters choose one party.

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  Ballot from a 2021 local election in the United Kingdom, using first-past-the-post. Voters choose one candidate.

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  Ballots may be tickets rather than forms, as in Israel.

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  Perspective view of a 2000 Palm Beach County, Florida "butterfly ballot"