Editing Ballot box

{{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>

==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>

==Operation==
While ballot boxes, other than drop boxes, are usually located in [[polling station|polling stations]], mobile ballot boxes also exist. These are taken to people's homes in some countries so that they do not have to travel to the polling station.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global mobile voting data |url=https://www.idea.int/data-tools/tools/special-voting-arrangements/mobile-voting |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=International IDEA}}</ref> Mobile ballot boxes are very popular in Eastern Europe, in which 90% of countries have provisions for their use, but are very limited in use in Western Europe.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Special Voting Arrangements |url=https://www.idea.int/data-tools/tools/special-voting-arrangements |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=International IDEA}}</ref> They are also only used in a small fraction of countries in Africa and the Americas.<ref name=":4" />

When very large ballot papers are used, there may be a feeder mechanism to assist in the deposit of the paper into the box.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

==Security==
Drop boxes allow voters to avoid having to use the mail service, and are generally more secure than mail boxes.<ref name=":2" /> In the 2010s, jurisdictions in the western United States, where voting by mail is commonplace, adopted secure ballot drop boxes capable of withstanding a range of risks, such as theft, vehicle collisions, arson, and inclement weather. One vendor manufactures a ballot box made of {{convert|1/4|inch|adj=mid||-thick}} steel, weighing from {{convert|600|to|1000|lb}}.<ref name="KCTS Santos">{{cite news|title=These ballot boxes keep your vote safe from fire, rain and rampaging SUVs|first=Melissa|last=Santos|publisher=[[KCTS-TV]]|date=October 17, 2019|accessdate=October 28, 2024|url=https://www.cascadepbs.org/2019/10/these-ballot-boxes-keep-your-vote-safe-fire-rain-and-rampaging-suvs}}</ref> [[Fire suppression system]]s may rely on fuse-triggered chemical agents<ref name="KCTS Santos" /><ref>{{cite news|title=A California ballot box was set on fire. Could that happen in the Boise area too?|first=Hayley|last=Harding|work=[[Idaho Statesman]]|location=Boise, Idaho|date=October 22, 2020|accessdate=October 28, 2024|url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article246582763.html}}</ref> or airtight designs that smother fires. Some jurisdictions require ballot drop boxes to contain such systems.<ref>{{cite news|title=Judge rejects attempt to ban use of ballot drop boxes|first=Howard|last=Fischer|publisher=[[KAWC-FM]]|location=Yuma, Arizona|date=April 26, 2024|accessdate=October 28, 2024|url=https://www.kawc.org/news/2024-04-26/judge-rejects-attempt-to-ban-use-of-ballot-drop-boxes}}</ref> In the event that a drop box's contents are damaged, authorities can identify affected voters by serial numbers and reissue ballots to them.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ballot boxes still safe for voting despite arson attacks in Portland and Vancouver|first=Kristian|last=Foden-Vencil|publisher=[[Oregon Public Broadcasting]]|location=Portland, Oregon|date=October 28, 2024|accessdate=October 28, 2024|url=https://www.opb.org/article/2024/10/28/ballot-box-fire-elections-vote-voters-boxes-arson-portland-vancouver-security/}}</ref>

Polling stations may use transparent ballot boxes in order for people to be able to witness that the box is empty prior to the start of the election, and not stuffed with fraudulent votes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |last2=Nalewicki |first2=Jennifer |title=A Glass Ballot Box Was the Answer to Voter Fraud in the 19th Century |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/glass-ballot-box-was-answer-voter-fraud-19th-century-180976171/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> This style of ballot boxes (specifically, glass ballot boxes) had become a staple in the United States by 1860, in the context of scandals around the use of false bottoms on election boxes.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Foutch |first=Ellery |title=The Glass Ballot Box and Political Transparency |url=https://commonplace.online/article/glass-ballot-box-political-transparency/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Commonplace |language=en-US}}</ref> It fell out of use in the United States around the turn of the century, in favor of new voting machines users operated by turning a crank.<ref name=":0" /> They are still in use occasionally in other countries, including France.<ref name=":0" />

==Photo gallery==
<gallery perrow="4" widths="160">
File:Cardboard ballot box - Smithsonian.jpg|A cardboard ballot box used during the first federal vote in [[Washington, D.C.]]
File:Wooden ballot box - Smithsonian.jpg|A wooden ballot box used in the northeastern United States {{Circa|1870}}
File:Metal ballot box - Smithsonian.jpg|A galvanized metal ballot box used in [[Tulare County, California]], United States, {{Circa|1936}}
File:Election MG 3455.JPG|A voter putting her envelope into a clear ballot box during the [[2007 French presidential election]]
File:Election voting 20180128.jpg|Ballot being dropped into a ballot box during the [[2018 Finnish presidential election]]
File:Glass ballot box - Smithsonian.jpg|A glass globe ballot jar c. 1884
File:Acme ballot box - Smithsonian.jpg|An Acme [[voting machine]] of [[Bridgewater, Connecticut]], c. 1880
File:Tiobox transparent plastic ballot box.jpg|A translucent ballot box (Tiobox) used in [[Slovenia]]
File:Ballot box.JPG|An old metal ballot box used in [[Norway]]
File:Voter Cast his vote in ballot box- Iranian presidential election, 2013 in Sarakh 3.jpeg|A man in [[Sarakhs]] put his vote to ballot, [[2013 Iranian presidential election]].
File:View of the security boxes (6430609419).jpg|Secured ballot boxes in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
File:Ballot boxes.jpg|Ballot boxes used in the Philippines before automation was implemented on [[2008 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao general election|2008 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional elections on 11 August 2008]]
File:Wahltonne für die Bundestagswahl 2017, Zentrales Wahlbüro im Technischen Rathaus zu Bochum (01).jpg|A recycling bin as ballot box for the [[2017 German federal election]]; Central Electoral Office of the City of [[Bochum]]
File:Виборчі урни в Україні.jpg|Ballot boxes in [[Ukraine]], which are transparent to prevent pre-stuffing the box with fake ballots
File:Переносна виборча урна в Україні.jpg|Small (mobile) ballot box in Ukraine, for voting outside of polling station by people who are unable to come to the polling station by themself
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Ballot]]
*[[Election fraud]]
*[[Four boxes of liberty]]
*[[Secret ballot]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Ballot boxes}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballot Box}}
[[Category:Elections terminology]]
[[Category:Containers]]