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Australian ballot
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Black and white illustration of men from different social classes voting in private booths at a British polling station in 1880, with a sign reading Polling Station 6, T to Z and all lodgers.
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Also called:
secret ballot
Related Topics:
ballot
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Australian ballot
Australian ballot Voters participating in the secret ballot, or Australian ballot, system in the British general elections of April 17, 1880.

Australian ballot

politics
Also known as: secret ballot, secret voting
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Australian ballot, the system of voting in which voters mark their choices in privacy on uniform ballots printed and distributed by the government or designate their choices by some other secret means. Victoria and South Australia were the first states to introduce secrecy of the ballot (1856), and for that reason the secret ballot is referred to as the Australian ballot. The system spread to Europe and the United States to meet the growing public and parliamentary demand for protection of voters. The means for securing secrecy vary considerably.

Voting by Australian ballot usually takes place in a prescribed manner. The voting boxes are required to be of certain dimensions and closed, the only aperture being a small slit at the top. These containers are examined before the poll begins and cannot be opened until the count begins. The voter marks a ballot, often while standing in a special booth, and (after the voter’s right to vote has been verified) the vote is placed inside the container.

In Great Britain the secret ballot was finally introduced for all parliamentary and municipal elections by the Ballot Act of 1872. In the United States, the Australian ballot system was extensively adopted after the presidential election of 1884.

Map of Canada displaying the results of the 2008 federal election by province and territory, with regions shaded to indicate the leading party's share of the popular vote: blue for Conservative, red for Liberal, light blue for Bloc Quebecois, and orange for New Democratic Party. Each area is labeled with the number of seats won by each party, and a legend at the bottom summarizes national seat totals for each party.
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This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeannette L. Nolen.