# ballot

Pronunciation: say "BAL-uht" /ˈbælət/

## Noun

1. A piece of paper or card used to record a vote, originally a small ball dropped into a container for the same purpose.
   - Simple: A piece of paper used to mark and cast your vote.
   - _Officials counted every ballot by hand after the polls closed._
   - _Voters slipped each ballot into a sealed container at the door._
2. Voting as a way of deciding something, especially by secret vote, or a single round of such voting.
   - Simple: The act of voting, usually done in secret.
   - _The union settled the dispute through a secret ballot of all members._
   - _The chairman was finally elected on the second ballot._
3. All the votes recorded in an election, taken together as a whole.
   - Simple: All the votes that people cast, added up together.
   - _The challenger captured sixty percent of the ballot._
   - _Early returns showed the incumbent leading the ballot by a wide margin._
4. A list of the candidates running for office, also called a ticket. *(US)*
   - Simple: The list of people you can choose between in an election.
   - _Voters found five names on the ballot for the open seat._
   - _The party put a young reformer on its ballot._

## Verb

5. To vote or reach a decision by ballot.
   - Simple: To vote by using a ballot.
   - _The union balloted on whether to accept the pay offer._
   - _Residents will ballot to decide the park's future._
6. To invite a group to vote on a proposal.
   - Simple: To ask a group of people to vote on something.
   - _Management balloted the workforce on the proposed merger._
   - _The society plans to ballot all fellows before changing its rules._
7. To select or allocate by drawing lots.
   - Simple: To choose people or things at random, like a lottery.
   - _Demand was so high that the club balloted for entry._
   - _If applications exceed places, we ballot for the remaining spots._

## Origin

Borrowed from Italian 'balota'/'ballotta' (a small ball, especially one used to register a vote), from 'balla' (bale, bundle) plus a diminutive suffix; or possibly from Middle French 'balote'/'ballotte' (a small voting ball). Both ultimately go back to Proto-West Germanic *ballu and Proto-Germanic *balluz (ball).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/ballot (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).