Ballot
The device or document used by a voter to cast their vote in an election. Modern ballots can be paper, optical scan cards, or direct-recording electronic (DRE) machines, and they list the candidates and measures up for a vote.
The device or document used by a voter to cast their vote in an election. Modern ballots can be paper, optical scan cards, or direct-recording electronic (DRE) machines, and they list the candidates and measures up for a vote.
Example: The ‘Australian ballot,’ adopted widely in the U.S. in the late 19th century, is a uniform, secret ballot printed at public expense and distributed only at the polling place, replacing the earlier system of parties handing out their own distinct, colored ballots.
Common misconception: All ballots in the U.S. are paper. While paper ballots (often with optical scan readers) are increasingly the standard for auditability, many jurisdictions still use Direct-Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines with no voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT).