naked ballot

[ney-kid bal-uht]

noun

1. a mail-in ballot that is completed and placed in a return envelope without first being enclosed in a secrecy envelope.

   Voters who submitted naked ballots will be given a chance to resubmit, but with Election Day coming up fast we recommend getting it right the first time.

Word History and Origins

Origin of naked ballot¹

First recorded in 2005–10

Example Sentences

The funding was evident inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where an enormous staff of 150 yellow-vested workers counted Philadelphia’s mail-in ballots in a cavernous room outfitted with high-speed scanners and scales so sensitive they could detect if the interior security envelope was missing — a disqualifying omission known as a “naked ballot.”

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The state currently does not have any process that lets voters address naked ballot issues.

Read more on Salon

Last month, Deeley wrote to state lawmakers, after a court upheld the secrecy envelope requirement, that “it is the naked ballot ruling that is going to cause electoral chaos” — there’s that word again — with projected estimates as high as 100,000 ballots being discounted.

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If it’s missing, the “naked” ballot must be tossed out, a court has ruled.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He also explains how to avoid having your mail-in ballot disqualified for minor and common mistakes such as not signing your ballot or not ensuring that you don’t return a “naked ballot,” otherwise known as a ballot that is not mailed back properly.

Read more on Fox News