What is a Secret Ballot?
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 14th, 2023
A secret ballot is a voting process used in elections and referendums, commonly referred to as the Australian ballot. A voter carefully casts his vote in an enclosure so that no one else can see what he has decided. This prevents attempts to influence the vote by threats, extortion, and possible vote buying. This scheme is one way to establish political secrecy.
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Secret Ballot Definition and Meaning
Various voting techniques are combined with secret voting. The simplest secret ballot consists of a blank sheet of paper that each voter fills in with his or her selection. The process is followed through the following simple steps.
- The voter folds the ballot paper in half and places it in a sealed box without showing the vote to anyone.
- Then this box will be emptied for counting.
- The availability of a polling booth so that a voter can mark their choice on the ballot paper without anyone else being able to see what they are typing is a component of secret voting.
- These days, printed ballots with the names of the candidates or questions and related checkboxes are usually provided.
- Ballots are designed to remove bias and prevent anyone from adding voters to the ballot, and provisions are made at the polling station for voters to register their choices in privacy.
Simply put, a secret ballot is a vote in which each voter’s preference is kept private but the final tally is made public.
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