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Synonyms

secret ballot

American  

noun

  1. a vote in which the confidentiality of how one votes is safeguarded.

  2. Australian ballot.

Etymology

Origin of secret ballot

First recorded in 1910–15

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.

In a sign of the pressures around the issue, the proposal was voted on by secret ballot, a relatively uncommon procedure at the gathering, with nearly 75 percent of votes against.

From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025

Previously, only the parliamentary party could vote by secret ballot in selecting a candidate and ordinary members did not have a say.

From BBC • Oct. 8, 2025

Under the old rules, farmworkers voted on union representation by secret ballot at a polling site designated by the state labor board, typically on employer property.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2025

But if that effort fell short on a secret ballot, he’d suffer an embarrassing setback to his stature just when it’s at a new peak.

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2024

There they will choose a leader for themselves by secret ballot in a free election.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.