butterfly ballot

British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of butterfly ballot

C20: from its resemblance to a butterfly's wings

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

From Slate

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

From Washington Post

Though Florida had a host of problems during the 2000 presidential election, one of the most obvious was the “butterfly ballot” used in Palm Beach county, Florida.

From The Guardian

It was disparaged for its poorly designed “butterfly ballot,” which some said led them to cast votes for the wrong candidate.

From Washington Post

It was disparaged for its poorly designed "butterfly ballot," which some said led them to cast votes for the wrong candidate.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023