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Thesecret ballot, also known as theAustralian ballot, is a voting method in which avoter's identity in anelection or areferendum is anonymous.[1] This forestalls attempts to influence the voter byintimidation, blackmailing, and potentialvote buying. This system is one means of achieving the goal of political privacy.
Secretballots are used in conjunction with variousvoting systems. The most basic form of a secret ballot uses paper ballots upon which each voter marks their choices. Without revealing the votes, the voter folds the ballot paper in half (if necessary) and places it in a sealed box. This box is later emptied for counting. An aspect of secret voting is the provision of avoting booth to enable the voter to write on the ballot paper without others being able to see what is being written. Today, printed ballot papers are usually provided, with the names of the candidates or questions and respective check boxes. Provisions are made at thepolling place for the voters to record their preferences in secret, and the ballots are designed to eliminate bias and prevent anyone from linking voters to the ballot.
A privacy problem arises with moves to improve the efficiency of voting by the introduction ofpostal voting and remoteelectronic voting. Some countries permitproxy voting, but some argue this is inconsistent with voting privacy. The popularity of theballot selfie has challenged the secrecy of in-person voting.
In systems ofdirect democracy, such as the SwissLandsgemeinde, voting is typically conducted publicly to ensure all citizens can observe the outcome.
By the late 20th century, the secret ballot had become commonplace for "individual citizens" indemocracies. Votes taken byelected officials are typically public, so citizens can judge officials' and former officials' voting records in future elections. This may be done with a physical or electronic system or through aroll call vote. Some faster legislative voting methods do not record who voted in which way, though witnesses in the legislative chambers may still notice a given legislator's vote. These includevoice votes where the volume of shouting for or against is taken as a measure of numerical support and counting of raised hands. In some cases, a secret ballot is used to allow representatives to choose party leadership without fear of retaliation against those voting for losing candidates. The parliamentary tactics of forcing or avoiding a roll call vote can be used to discourage or encourage representatives to vote in a manner that is politically unpopular among constituents (for example, if a policy considered to be in the public interest is difficult to explain or unpopular but without a better alternative, or to hide pandering to a special interest) or to create or prevent fodder for political campaigns.
Public methods of citizen voting have included:
Private methods of citizen voting have included:
Inancient Greece, secret ballots were used in several situations likeostracism[3] and also to remain hidden from people seeking favors.[4] In early 5th century BC the secrecy of ballot atecclesia was not the primary concern, but more of a consequence of usingballots to count the votes accurately.[5] Secret ballot was introduced into public life of Athens during second half of the fifth century.[4]
Inancient Rome, theTabellariae Leges (English:Ballot Laws) were four laws that implemented secret ballots for votes cast regarding each of the major elected assemblies of theRoman Republic. Three of the four laws were put in place in relatively quick succession, with one each in the years 139 BC, 137 BC, and 131 BC, applying respectively to the elections ofmagistrates, jury deliberations excepting charges oftreason as well as the passage of laws. The final of the four laws was implemented more than two decades later in 107 BC and served solely to expand the law passed in 137 BC to require secret ballots for all jury deliberations, including treason.[6]
Before these ballot laws, one was required to verbally provide their vote to an individual responsible for tallying the votes, effectively publicly making every voter's vote known. Mandating secret ballots had the effect of reducing the influence of the Roman aristocracy, who were capable of influencing elections through a combination of bribes and threats. Secret balloting helps assuage both of those concerns, as not only are one's peers unable to determine which way you voted, there is additionally no proof that could be produced that youdid vote certain way, perhaps contravening directions .[6]
Article 31 of the Constitution of the Year III of the Revolution (1795)[7] states that "All elections are to be held by secret ballot". The same goes with theconstitution of 1848:[8] voters could hand-write the name of their preferred candidate on their ballot at home (the only condition was to write on white paper[9]) or receive one distributed on the street.[10] The ballot was folded in order to prevent other people from reading its contents.[10]
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte attempted to abolish the secret ballot for the1851 plebiscite with an electoraldecree requesting electors to write down "yes" or "no" (in French: "oui" or "non") under the eyes of everyone. But he faced strong opposition and eventually relented, allowing the secret ballot to occur.[11]
According to the official website of theAssemblée nationale (the lower house of the French parliament), thevoting booth was permanently adopted only in 1913.[12]
The demand for a secret ballot was one of the six points ofChartism.[13] TheBritish parliament of the time refused even to consider the Chartist demands. Still,Lord Macaulay, in an 1842 speech, while rejecting Chartism's six points as a whole, admitted that the secret ballot was one of the two points he could support.[citation needed]
TheLondon School Board election of 1870 was Britain's first large-scale election by secret ballot.[citation needed]
After several failed attempts (several of them spearheaded byGeorge Grote[14]), the secret ballot was eventually extended generally in theBallot Act 1872, substantially reducing the cost of campaigning (astreating was no longer realistically possible) and was first used on15 August 1872 to re-electHugh Childers as MP forPontefract in aministerial by-election following his appointment asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The originalballot box, sealed in wax with a licorice stamp, is held at Pontefract museum.[15]
However, the UKuses numbered ballots to allow courts to intervene, under rare circumstances, to identify which candidate voters voted for.[citation needed]
In Australia, secret balloting appears to have been first implemented inTasmania on 7 February 1856.[citation needed]
Until the original TasmanianElectoral Act 1856 was "re-discovered" recently, credit for the first implementation of the secret ballot often went to Victoria, where the former mayor of MelbourneWilliam Nicholson pioneered it,[16] and simultaneouslySouth Australia.[17] Victoria enactedlegislation for secret ballots on 19 March 1856,[18] and South Australian Electoral CommissionerWilliam Boothby generally gets credit for creating the system finally enacted into law in South Australia on 2 April of that same year (a fortnight later).[citation needed] The other colonies in Australia followed:New South Wales (1858),[citation needed]Queensland (1859),[citation needed] andWestern Australia (1877).[citation needed]
State electoral laws, including the secret ballot, applied for thefirst election of the Australian parliament in 1901, and the system has continued to be a feature of federal elections and referendums.
TheCommonwealth Electoral Act 1918 does not explicitly set out the secret ballot, but a reading of sections 206, 207, 325, and 327 of the Act would imply its assumption. Sections 323 and 226(4), however, apply the principle of a secret ballot to polling staff and would also support the assumption.[citation needed]
New Zealand implemented secret voting in 1870.[citation needed]
When an election is held in Singapore,Elections Department Singapore does a secret ballot to ensure the election's integrity and that the voter's decision is respected and kept secret.Ballot boxes undergotamperproofing checks to ensure that the boxes are not tampered before it can be used. These boxes are sealed (except for the opening slots) prior to the voting window which opens at 8 amSingapore Time for 12 hours. Allballot papers had a serial number with a counterfoil attached to it, as these is to protect the integrity of the electoral process, the accounting for all the ballot papers issued and cast, and counter anyelectoral fraud; the counterfoil is also used for facilitating vote tracing if a court order is needed. Per safety and privacy reasons, voters are forbidden from using any electronic devices such as mobile phones or photography devices inside a polling station, and they are not allowed to bring the ballot paper out of the polling station. Voters are also advised not to make any markings (other than a X or a cross) by which the voter may be identified, as the vote may be rejected by the officials itself.[19][20][21]Exit polls are also illegal under the election act to maintain secrecy of voting,[22] although a variant of this procedure,sample counts, were used since the2015 election to reduce misinformation and speculations from unofficial sources.[23]
After the voting window ends, the opening slots for these boxes are also sealed, after which these boxes are being transported to the polling station's designated counting centre under police escort. These boxes then undergo accounting process to ensure these seals are intact and all the boxes are present before it can be opened to commence vote counting. After the election ended, every ballots and other official documents used for the election are placed in a new, separate box, before being transferred to a secure vault insideSupreme Court where it will be locked for up to six months under safe custody; Only a judge of the Supreme Court may have the discretion to open the sealed boxes for inspection, though it is to institute or maintain a prosecution or an application to invalidate an election. After six months, these boxes are transported toTuas South Incineration Plant where these boxes are destroyed thereafter.[24][25]
Before the final years of the 19th century, partisan newspapers printed filled-out ballots, which party workers distributed on election day so voters could drop them directly into the boxes. Individual states moved to secret ballots soon after thepresidential election of 1884, finishing withKentucky in 1891 when it quit using an oral ballot.[26][page needed]
Initially, however, a state's new ballot did not necessarily have all four components of an "Australian ballot":[27]
After ballots are cast and no longer identifiable to the voter, several states make the ballots and copies of them available to the public so the public can check counts and do other research with the anonymous ballots.[28][29]
Louisville, Kentucky, was the first city in the United States to adopt the Australian ballot. It was drafted byLewis Naphtali Dembitz, the uncle of and inspiration for futureSupreme Court associate justiceLouis Brandeis.Massachusetts adopted the first state-wide Australian ballot, written by reformerRichard Henry Dana III, in 1888. Consequently, it is also known as the "Massachusetts ballot". Seven states did not have government-printed ballots until the 20th century.Georgia started using them in 1922.[30] WhenSouth Carolina followed suit in 1950, this completed the nationwide switch to Australian ballots.[31] The 20th century also brought the first criminal prohibitions againstbuying votes in 1925.[32]
While U.S. elections are now held primarily by secret ballot, there are a few exceptions:
The right to hold elections by secret ballot is included in numeroustreaties and international agreements that obligate their signatory states:
Ballot design and polling place architecture often deny thedisabled the possibility to cast a vote secretly. In many democracies disabled persons may vote by appointing another person who is allowed to join them in the voting booth and fill the ballot in their name.[39] This does not assure secrecy of the ballot.
TheUnited NationsConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which entered into force in 2008, ensures a secret ballot for disabled voters. Article 29 of the Convention requires that all Contracting States protect "the right of the person with disabilities to vote by secret ballot inelections and publicreferendums". According to this provision, each Contracting State should provide voting equipment enabling disabled voters to vote independently and secretly. Some democracies, e.g. theUnited States, theNetherlands,Slovenia,Albania orIndia allow disabled voters to use electronicvoting machines. In others, among themAzerbaijan,Canada,Ghana, theUnited Kingdom, and mostAfrican andAsian countries, visually impaired voters can use ballots inBraille or paper ballot templates. Article 29 also requires that Contracting States ensure "that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use." In some democracies, e.g., the United Kingdom,Sweden and the United States, all the polling places already are fully accessible for disabled voters.[citation needed]
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The United Kingdom secret ballot arrangements are sometimes criticised because linking a ballot paper to the voter who cast it is possible. Each ballot paper is numbered, and each elector has a number. When an elector is given a ballot paper, their number is noted down on the counterfoil of the ballot paper (which also carries the ballot paper number). The secrecy of the ballot is not guaranteed if anyone sees the counterfoils, which are locked away before the ballot boxes are opened at the count.
This measure is thought to be justified as a security arrangement so that false ballot papers could be identified if there was an allegation of fraud. The process of matching ballot papers to voters is formally permissible only if anElection Court requires it; the Election Court has rarely made such an order since the secret ballot was introduced in theBallot Act 1872. One example was in a close local election contest in Richmond-upon-Thames in the late 1970s with three disputed ballots and a declared majority of two votes. Reportedly, prisoners were observed identifying voters' ballot votes on a list in 2008.[40] The legal authority for this system is set out in the Parliamentary Elections Rules in Schedule 1 of theRepresentation of the People Act 1983.[41]
Most states guarantee a secret ballot in theUnited States. Some states, includingIndiana andNorth Carolina, require the ability to link some ballots to voters. This may, for example, be used with absentee voting to retain the ability to cancel a vote if the voter dies before election day.[42][43] Sometimes the number on the ballot is printed on a perforated stub which is torn off and placed on a ring (like ashower curtain ring) before the ballot is cast into the ballot box. The stubs prove that an elector has voted and ensure they can only vote once, but the ballots are both secret and anonymous. At the end of voting day, the number of ballots inside the box should match the number of stubs on the ring, certifying that a registered elector cast every ballot and that none of them were lost or fabricated. Sometimes, the ballots themselves are numbered, making the vote trackable. In 2012 in Colorado, this procedure was ruled legal by Federal District JudgeChristine Arguello, who determined that the U.S. Constitution does not grant a right to a secret ballot.[44]
| Date | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1831 | France | Systems before 1856 (including those in France, the Netherlands, and Colombia) "merely required ballots to be marked in polling booths and deposited into ballot boxes, which permitted non-uniform ballots, including ballots of different colours and sizes, that could be easily identified as party tickets."[45] |
| 1856 (February 7) | Australia (Tasmania) | The other Australian colonies ofVictoria (March 19, 1856),South Australia (April 2, 1856),New South Wales (1858),Queensland (1859), andWestern Australia (1877) followed. |
| 1866 | Sweden | Voters previously chose a party-specific ballot in the open, which had been criticised for limiting the secrecy. However, the ballots are now placed behind a privacy screen, so the secrecy remains.[46] European Commission for democracy through law (Venice Commission) "Voters are entitled to [secrecy of ballot], but must also respect it themselves, and non-compliance must be punished by disqualifying any ballot paper whose content has been disclosed [...] Violation of the secrecy of the ballot must be punished, just like violations of other aspects of voter freedom." (Code of good practice in electoral matters, art. 52, 55) |
| 1867 | Germany | August 1867 North German federal election |
| 1872 | United Kingdom | Ballot Act 1872 |
| 1877 | Belgium | The Act of 9 July 1877 or "Malou Act", based on the BritishBallot Act 1872 |
| 1891 | United States of America | Individual states adopted secret ballots between 1884 and 1891. (Massachusetts was the first to meet all of the Australian ballot requirements in 1888.South Carolina was the last, in 1950.) |
| 1901 | Denmark | In connection withThe Shift of Government (Danish:Systemskiftet)[47] |
| 1903 | Iceland | Originally passed by the Icelandic parliament in 1902, but the legislation was rejected byKing Christian IX for technical reasons unrelated to ballot secrecy.[48] Passed into law 1903.[49] |
| 1912 | Argentina | Sáenz Peña Law |
| 1939 | Hungary | The secret ballot system was already applied at the 1920 elections, but in 1922, the government reinstated open voting in the countryside. Between 1922 and 1939, only the voters in the capital (Budapest) and larger cities could vote with secret ballot. The electoral law passed in 1938 introduced the nationwide secret ballot system again. |
Full text of the Constitution of the Year III onWikisource(in French) Works related toA History of the Australian Ballot System in the United States at Wikisource
