Ballot

In the United Kingdom, the term “ballot” can refer to two things. A ballot can either refer to an election within an organisation, or the paper on which a secret vote is made (more commonly called a “ballot paper”). In parliamentary elections in the UK, the ballot papers are pre-printed to protect the secrecy of the votes – each person uses one ballot (paper). The ballot is then folded and put into a locked container known as the “ballot box” through a narrow slot at the top. The ballot box cannot be opened until voting has ended.

Ballot Stuffing

Ballot stuffing refers to when someone votes more than once in an election that only allows one vote per individual. In the UK, measures are taken to avoid the possibility of ballot stuffing as the voter must declare themselves as present before receiving their blank ballot paper: in this way, officials can ensure that the number of people marked as present (or voted for by proxy) match the amount of ballot papers.