Editing Ballot box (section)

==History==
In the [[Roman Republic]], each voter initially gave his vote orally to an official who made a note of it on an official tablet, but later in the Republic,{{When|date=July 2024}} the [[secret ballot]] was introduced, and the voter recorded his vote with a [[stylus]] on a wax-covered [[boxwood]] tablet, then dropped the completed ballot in the ''sitella'' or ''urna'' (voting urn), sometimes also called ''[[cista]]''.<ref>''The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization'' (eds. Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, Esther Eidinow: Oxford University Press, 2014), p. 267.</ref> Paper ballots were used in Rome to some extent as early as 139 BCE.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=15 December 2022 |title=History of Voting Machines |url=https://votingmachines.procon.org/history-of-voting-machines/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Brittannica ProCon.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

In ancient [[India]] in the 10th century [[Chola Empire|Cholla era]], in [[Tamil Nadu]], palm leaves and pots were used to elect representatives to village administrations through the ''Kudavolai'' system.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=A |first=Vignesh |date=2024-04-14 |title=Kudavolai system of Cholas: Myth of 'ancient democracy' where nobody voted |url=https://thesouthfirst.com/featured/kudavolai-system-of-cholas-myth-of-ancient-democracy-where-nobody-voted/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=The South First |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-01-26 |title=Democracy's ancient roots: Tamil Nadu's tableau showcases historical Kudavolai electoral system |url=https://theprint.in/india/democracys-ancient-roots-tamil-nadus-tableau-showcases-historical-kudavolai-electoral-system/1940170/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=The Print |language=en-US}}</ref> The candidates' names were written on palm leaves,<ref name=":5" /> and these were placed inside a pot.<ref name=":6" /> Winners were chosen through the drawing of random ballots.<ref name=":5" /> While this system may have been used before the 10th century, there is no direct historical evidence as of 2024.<ref name=":5" />

In ancient Greece, voting was done by dropping small balls or tokens into ballot boxes to select preferred candidates.<ref name=":3" /> This method was also used in modern historical secret societies, which used white balls to vote someone into the organization, and black balls to keep them out, the origin of the word "blackball".<ref name=":3" /> As of 2022, citizens of Gambia voted by dropping marbles in colored drums, marked with the photo and logo of selected candidates.<ref name=":3" /> This system was introduced in 1965 to address illiteracy in voting.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 December 2006 |title=Gambians vote with their marbles |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5369966.stm |access-date=2024-07-09 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The first British [[secret ballot]] using ballot papers and a ballot box was held in [[Pontefract]] on 15 August 1872, under the terms of the recently enacted [[Ballot Act 1872]].  In a [[ministerial by-election]] following his appointment as [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]], [[Hugh Childers]] was re-elected as MP for [[Pontefract (UK Parliament constituency)|Pontefract]]. The original ballot box, sealed in wax with a liquorice stamp, is held at [[Pontefract Museum]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/WryVwsknTr-aa4IQ-ID9iQ Pontefract's secret ballot box, 1872] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216105616/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/WryVwsknTr-aa4IQ-ID9iQ |date=2019-12-16 }}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Museums/Object/2007_01.htm?wbc_purpose=...default.htmdefault.htm |title=Wakefield Metropolitan District Council website |access-date=2007-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927032628/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Museums/Object/2007_01.htm?wbc_purpose=...default.htmdefault.htm |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The first paper ballots and ballot boxes in the United States began appearing in the early 19th century, replacing previous [[Voice vote|voice voting]] practices.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-10-31 |title=How Americans Have Voted Through History: From Voices to Screens |url=https://www.history.com/news/voting-elections-ballots-electronic |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref> However, these were not popularized until the 1850s, upon the use of the [[Australian Ballot|Australian Secret Ballot]], a paper with each candidate's name pre-marked.<ref name=":3" /> This system was used in the United States until reforms were passed in the 1880s.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cheng |first=Alicia Yin |date=2020-02-29 |title=The Evolution of Election Day |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/02/ballot-history-photo-essay.html |access-date=2024-07-09 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref> Voting was mostly by Australian Secret Ballot until automatic mechanical voting machines, operated with levers, became ubiquitous in the 20th century (1910-1980).<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> Punch card voting and optical scanning machines (similar to [[ScanTron]]), both of which require paper ballots and therefore ballot boxes, came to market around the 1960s.<ref name=":1" /> Currently, the most popular way to vote in the United States is through optical scanning machines.<ref name=":1" />

In the United States, ballot drop boxes have been in use since about 2000.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Sherman |first=Amy |title=Ballot drop boxes, long used without issue, draw Trump's ire |url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/oct/16/ballot-drop-boxes-have-long-been-used-without-cont/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=PolitiFact |language=en-US}}</ref> Ballot drop boxes became more popular during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sherman |first=Amy |title=Why ballot drop boxes became a GOP target |url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/may/19/ballot-drop-boxes-were-popular-2020-then-they-beca/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=PolitiFact |language=en-US}}</ref>