Editing Ballot box (section)

{{Short description|Container for completed vote records during an election}}
{{For|Unicode symbols with "ballot box" in their names|Checkbox#Unicode}}
[[File:Виборчі урни в Україні.jpg|thumb|Transparent ballot boxes used in Ukraine]]A '''ballot box''' is a temporarily sealed container, usually a square box though sometimes a [[Tamper resistance|tamper resistant]] bag, with a narrow slot in the top sufficient to accept a [[ballot|ballot paper]] in an [[election]] but which prevents anyone from accessing the [[vote]]s cast until the close of the voting period. A '''ballot drop box''' allows voters who have received a ballot by mail to submit it for counting in a self-service fashion. In the United States, ballot boxes are usually sealed after the end of polling, and transported to vote-counting centers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How are votes counted? |url=https://usafacts.org/articles/how-are-votes-counted/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=USAFacts |language=en}}</ref>