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How many ballots can be held on the first day of a papal conclave?

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Cardinals of the Catholic Church, dressed in red, sit at long tables in the Sistine Chapel during the 2005 papal election conclave, surrounded by ornate frescoed walls. — papal conclave Cardinals assembled inside the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Palace for a conclave to elect a new pope; Vatican City, 2005.

During a papal conclave, only one ballot is held on the first day of the assembly.1

On each subsequent day, the cardinal electors conduct up to four ballots—two in the morning and two in the afternoon—until a pope is elected by a two-thirds majority.1