Editing Open list (section)

==Ballot format==

Some ways to operate an open list system when using traditional paper-based voting are as follows:
*One method (used in [[Belgium]] and the [[Netherlands]]) is to have a large ballot paper with a box for each party and sub-boxes for the various candidates. In [[Belgium]], when electronic voting is used (in Flanders and Ostbelgien), the voter has to choose with an electronic pencil on a touchscreen between lists and blank vote, then on the list's page between the top box (vote for the list without preference for specific candidates) or the box(es) for one or several candidates on the same list.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} « [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sWrV4S-P4c Voilà comment voter électroniquement avec Smartmatic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923093747/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sWrV4S-P4c |date=2016-09-23 }} », video posted on Youtube by the Belgian Federal Interior Ministry</ref>
*Another method (used in [[Norway]], [[Slovakia]] and [[Spain]]) is to have a separate ballot paper for each party. To maintain voter secrecy, the voter is handed ballot papers for every party. The voter chooses the candidates (or may vote for the party as a whole) on one of the ballot papers, for example, by drawing circles around the candidate numbers (which is why casting preference votes is called ''circling'' in the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]]). Then, the voter puts the party ballot paper into an envelope and puts the envelope into the ballot box.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
* In [[Brazil]], each candidate is assigned a number (in which the first 2 digits are the party number and the others the candidate's number within the party). The voting machine has a telephone-like panel where the voter presses the buttons for the number of their chosen candidate. In [[Finland]], each candidate is assigned a 3-digit number.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
* In [[Italy]], the voter must write the name of each chosen candidate in blank boxes under the party box.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}