silent vote

American  

noun

1. the vote of persons who have not previously expressed or made evident a preference.

---

Etymology

Origin of silent vote

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

This has always served as an unofficial referendum on the fame of each season’s team, a silent vote on who stands as most beloved on the current roster.

From Washington Post • Sep. 4, 2018

Chairman Brown of the entertainment committee brightened: "Don't be alarmed, that is merely the silent vote for Silent Cal."

From Time Magazine Archive

But his silent vote is profoundly disapproving of Bullet Park and its frangible felicities.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mr. R. Gordon rose, and declared that he could not reconcile it to his sense of duty to allow this motion to pass with a silent vote against it.

From Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume I (of 2) Including, Among Other Important Matters, Full Particulars of the Mysterious Death of the Princess Charlotte by Hamilton, Lady Anne

The silent vote is a greater dread to the party leaders than was the sword to Damocles.

From The Negro and the elective franchise. A Series Of Papers And A Sermon (The American Negro Academy. Occasional Papers, No. 11.) by Cook, Charles C.