butterfly ballot

noun

1. a ballot paper in the form of two leaves extending from a central spine

Word History and Origins

Origin of butterfly ballot¹

C20: from its resemblance to a butterfly's wings

Example Sentences

Remember the notorious butterfly ballot that inadvertently diverted more than 2,000 Floridians’ votes from Al Gore to Pat Buchanan in 2000, more than enough to change the result in George W. Bush’s favor?

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Though Buchanan’s deliberate voters were arch conservatives, some frustrated Al Gore supporters speculated that a confusing design in the Palm Beach, Florida, ballot—the infamous butterfly ballot—may have caused some voters to accidentally cast votes for Buchanan instead of Gore.

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The butterfly ballot, which ironically is sort of the main thing everyone remembers about the 2000 recount.

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The butterfly ballot, for instance, is almost entirely extinct.

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At issue were thousands of absentee ballot request forms in Martin County — just north of Palm Beach County, home of the notorious “butterfly ballot” — that had missing voter registration information.

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