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

Voters would cast ballots for candidates in their local district, as they do now, and then would cast a second ballot by party, in principle allowing smaller parties to flourish.

From Salon • Mar. 9, 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

The first one was called before the second ballot had come in and when it was in the hands of the members to decide.

From From Crow-Scaring to Westminster; an Autobiography by George Edwards M.P. O.B.E.

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