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second ballot

British

noun

an electoral procedure in which if no candidate emerges as a clear winner in a first ballot, candidates at the bottom of the poll are eliminated and another ballot is held among the remaining candidates

"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

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.

Thune, who’s served as McConnell’s No. 2 since 2019, beat out Texas Sen. John Cornyn on a second ballot, 29 to 24.

From Slate • Nov. 13, 2024

The second ballot will list parties - and independents - in provinces vying for a further 200 parliamentary seats.

From BBC • May 28, 2024

Delegates would vote for a replacement on a second ballot and so on until a nominee was chosen.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2024

It was Mr. McKissick who prevailed in the co-chairman contest last year, when Mr. Whatley, who was trailing in the vote, withdrew from the contest after the second ballot.

From New York Times • Feb. 9, 2024

By observers generally it is considered that the principle of the second ballot, in the form in which it is applied in France, possesses no very decisive value.

From The Governments of Europe by Ogg, Frederic Austin

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