ballot

American  

[bal-uht] / ˈbæl ət /

noun

1. a slip or sheet of paper on which a person's vote is marked.

2. the method of secret voting by means of printed or written slips or sheets of paper or by means of voting machines.

3. voting in general, or a round of voting.

   Our candidate was defeated on the third ballot.

4. the list of candidates to be voted on.

   They succeeded in getting her name placed on the ballot.

5. the right to vote.

   to gain the ballot after years of struggle.

6. the whole number of votes cast or recorded.

7. a system or the practice of drawing lots.

   The assassin would be chosen by ballot.

8. (formerly) a little ball used in voting.

---

verb (used without object)

balloted, balloting

1. to vote.

   to ballot against a candidate.

2. to draw lots.

   to ballot for places.

verb (used with object)

balloted, balloting

1. to canvass or solicit (a group, membership, etc.) for votes.

   Members were balloted on the resolution.

2. to select, especially for military service.

   Certain age groups will not be balloted at this time.

ballot British  

/ ˈbælət /

noun

1. the democratic practice of selecting a representative, a course of action, or deciding some other choice by submitting the options to a vote of all qualified persons

2. an instance of voting, usually in secret using ballot papers or a voting machine

3. the paper on which a vote is recorded

4. a list of candidates standing for office

5. the number of votes cast in an election

6. a random selection of successful applicants for something in which the demand exceeds the supply, esp for shares in an oversubscribed new issue

7. the allocation by ballot of farming land among eligible candidates, such as ex-servicemen

8. a low-interest housing loan allocated by building societies by drawing lots among its eligible members

---

verb

1. to vote or elicit a vote from

   we balloted the members on this issue

2. to select (officials, etc) by lot or ballot or to select (successful applicants) at random

3. to vote or decide (on an issue, etc)

ballot Idioms  

1. see stuff the ballot box.

---

Other Word Forms

• balloter noun
• nonballoting noun
• preballot verb (used with object)
• reballot noun
• unballoted adjective

Etymology

Origin of ballot

First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle French ballotte, from Venetian Italian ballotta, equivalent to ball ( a ) ball ¹ + -otta diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

They will need to collect about 400,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

From The Wall Street Journal

Reagan’s political opponents in California and Washington consistently underestimated him, assuming the former actor could be easily beaten at the ballot box, Cannon said.

From Los Angeles Times

Unions collected enough signatures to place a referendum on next November’s ballot.

From The Wall Street Journal

As a result, an unprecedented number of people spoiled their ballots—close to 13% of the total—rather than cast their lot with either of the approved and all-too-similar candidates.

From The Wall Street Journal

State newspaper editorials and former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, the Democratic incumbent at the time, argued that the found ballots were suspicious and likely fraudulent.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• election
• plebiscite
• poll
• polling
• referendum
• slate
• tally
• ticket