ballot1 nounballot2 verb
ballotbal‧lot1 /ˈbælət/ ●○○ noun 
WORD ORIGINballot1
Origin:
1500-1600 Italian ballotta, from balla ( ➔ BALLOON1); because small balls were used for votingEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- He was elected by a ballot of all the teaching staff in the college.
- It was decided to hold a ballot of all party members.
- November's general election ballot
- The result of the ballot showed that nurses were not in favour or a strike.
- Voting will be by secret ballot.
- Calday Grange Grammar School also faced a second ballot over opting out after it applied for grant-maintained status last year.
- For the first ballot each voter will indicate one choice from the candidates listed. 12.
- Of the 34 seats on the ballot Tuesday, 19 were held by Republicans and 15 by Democrats.
- The voters are capable of taking a long range outlook when they consider initiatives on the ballot.
- They equally fear losing power through the ballot box.
- Theyaccount for nearly one-fifth of the electorate, and will cast the deciding ballots in many constituencies.
- Under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, elections are by secret ballot.
- With the new dynamic of California politics, getting any ballot measure passed with just Anglo votes is fast becoming impossible.
THESAURUS
an occasion when people choose a government or leader by voting: · the American presidential election· South Africa held its first multi-racial elections in 1994.
an occasion when the members of an organization vote by marking what they want on a piece of paper, especially to make sure that it is secret: · The result of the ballot showed that nurses were not in favour of a strike.
an occasion when everyone in a country votes on an important political subject: · In the Danish referendum, the people voted ‘no’ to joining the European single currency.
the process of voting in a political election – used especially in news reports: · 4,500,000 voters went to the polls in eight provinces to elect six governors.
an act of voting informally for something by the people in a group raising their hands: · May I have a show of hands from all those in favour of the proposal?
Longman Language Activatoran occasion when people vote when people vote to choose a government or leader: · It will be interesting to see what happens at the next election.hold an election: · South Africa held its first multi-racial elections in 1994.call an election (=to say officially that there will be an election): · The government may decide to call an election early.presidential/gubernatorial election (=an election to choose a president or governor): · America is preparing for the presidential elections, which will take place in two weeks' time.general election British (=an election to choose a government): · Taxation will be one of the major issues at the next general election.
relating to an election: · Support for electoral reform is growing.· This was the first of her many electoral successes.· Electoral systems vary from country to country.
when everyone in a country votes on a particular important political subject: · How will you be voting in the referendum?hold a referendum: · The government has promised to hold a referendum and let the people choose.referendum on: · The Irish people voted 'no' in a referendum on divorce in 1986.
when the members of an organization vote on something by marking what they want on a piece of paper, especially in order to make sure that it is secret: · The result of the ballot showed that nurses were not in favour of a strike.ballot of: · He was elected by a ballot of all the teaching staff in the college.hold a ballot: · It was decided to hold a ballot of all party members.secret ballot (=when no-one knows what you voted for): · Voting will be by secret ballot.
a political election - used especially in news reports: · The party is still trying to recover from the losses it suffered at last year's polls.at the polls: · Richards won a huge victory at the polls.the polls: · Voters have been flocking to the polls to elect a new president.
the process of voting in a political election: · Polling has been going on since 9 am.· The announcement of her resignation came just two days before polling was to begin.polling day British (=the day when an election is held): · Polling day is 30 May.polling booth/station (=a place where people vote): · Security was tight at the polling stations.
when the people in a group are asked to vote informally by raising their hands: · A show of hands suggested that Martins had little support.· She was elected by a show of hands.
WORD SETSabstain, verbabstention, nounadopt, verbballot, nounballot box, nounballot paper, nounblackball, verbby-election, nouncasting vote, nouncloture, nounconstituency, nounconstituent, noundeliver, verbdeposit, noundeselect, verbdisenfranchise, verbdisfranchise, verbdivision, noundoorstep, verbdream ticket, nounelect, verbelection, nounelectioneering, nounelective, adjectiveelector, nounelectoral, adjectiveelectoral register, nounelectorate, nounenfranchise, verbexit poll, nounfloating voter, nounfranchise, noungeneral election, nounhung parliament, nounlobby, nounmajority, nounmotion, nounno, nounoff-year, nounopen primary, nounoutvote, verboverall majority, nounplebiscite, nounplurality, nounpocket veto, nounpoint of order, nounpoll, nounpolling, nounpolling booth, nounpolling day, nounpolling station, nounpollster, nounPR, nounprimary, nounprimary election, nounproportional representation, nounpsephology, nounrecount, nounre-elect, verbreferendum, nounresolution, nounresolve, verbreturn, verbreturning officer, nounrig, verbrun, verbrun-off, nounscrutineer, nounshow of hands, nounslate, nounsplit ticket, nounspoil, verbsponsor, nounsponsor, verbstalking horse, nounstraight ticket, nounstraw poll, nounstronghold, nounsuffrage, nountactical voting, nounteller, nounthree-line whip, nounvote, verbvote of censure, nounvote of confidence, nounvote of no confidence, nounvoter, nounvoting machine, nounward, nounwrite-in, nounX, nounyea, nounyes, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
The party leader is elected by secret ballot. Workers at the plant held a ballot and rejected strike action. Only 22% of voters cast their ballots.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Candidates are chosen by a postal ballot of all party members.
The party leader is elected by secret ballot. Workers at the plant held a ballot and rejected strike action. Only 22% of voters cast their ballots. (=ones that have been marked incorrectly and so cannot be counted)
Candidates are chosen by a postal ballot of all party members. British English (=when workers vote on whether to strike)· The union is going to hold a strike ballot.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· Buchanan and the pundits credit Forbes' early use of absentee ballots.· Although the exit polls predicted a very close race, they could not measure early or absentee ballots.· She insisted that the boys vote as Avonites by absentee ballot and send the envelopes to her for transmittal to polling officials.· An absentee ballot was counted in that race and moved the candidates further apart.· You can also get an absentee ballot within three days if your application is received before Oct. 28.
· Should both sides of a case be heard before the postal ballot?· Can anyone think of a way of proposing amendments before the postal ballot without the wasted expense of additional mailings?· The electricians are holding a postal ballot with the results announced after Christmas.· The blasted Fabian Society was insisting on a postal ballot of all its members there.· Will there be a postal ballot?· He was appointed by postal ballot and takes up his new responsibilities in July.· Members of the Transport and General Workers' Union are taking part in a postal ballot after a breakdown of pay negotiations.· Daily Mail journalists voted for industrial action over plans not to recognise the National Union of Journalists in a postal ballot.
· Just 4. 4 percent of the 80, 000 presidential nominating ballots sent to party members were returned.· Gramm is still on the presidential ballot here, and he is advertising on television for his Senate re-election campaign.
· Stephanopoulos turned thirty-one as New Hampshire voters cast their primary ballots.· It will appear on the March 26 statewide primary ballot.· Last week, you officially became a candidate for the White House when you appeared on the primary ballot in California.· But when Silicon Valley executives bankrolled a trio of anti-lawyer initiatives on the March primary ballot, trial lawyers rebounded.
· On Oct. 27 the central committee proposed that multi-candidate elections with secret ballots be obligatory.· An election by secret ballot shall be held. 3.· Pawar called for an election of the parliamentary party leader by secret ballot.· The secret ballot gave these students their first free opportunity to express opposition.· The President would be elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot for a five-year term.· Under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, elections are by secret ballot.· Gorbachev's re-election as general secretary Gorbachev was re-elected general secretary on July 10 by secret ballot.· In a secret ballot of reporters who have covered both, Dole would probably defeat President Clinton.
NOUN· Only the last two ballot boxes overturned his lead.· Accordingly, that liberty need not seek refuge at the ballot box.· I would like my vote to be 100 percent secret between me and the ballot box.· Haider and his followers have been gradually building their support at the ballot box for the past decade.· In the meantime, the Polytechnic will still use old-fashioned ballot boxes.· Another ballot box was available at the central library.· The one thing politicians care about more than anything else is the ballot box.· She went to the ballot box touching her hat.
· Also on the ballot paper was the one candidate, Lucy Courtney, for the post of senior vice-president.· Pupils will cast their ballot papers in mock polling booths before school and at morning break on the day.· Why did that county have that weird ballot paper?· Antiquated equipment, badly designed ballot papers and inefficient vote-counting machinery contributed to the confusion.· They called into question various electoral procedures including the drawing up of electoral lists and the issuing of ballot papers.· But voters could have another choice on their ballot papers.· If you want to vote by post give the full address where your ballot paper should be sent.
· But unions would be effectively debarred from holding a strike ballot in support of workers already sacked for taking part in unofficial strikes.· The unions are already holding a strike ballot because they fear compulsory redundancies.· The union also voted for a further strike ballot on the new contracts.
VERB· Fulani's minor-party ticket will appear on the November ballot in nearly all 50 states.· Eventually, 16 names will appear on the ballot.· Candidates did not have to gather any signatures of voters or pay any sort of fee to appear on the ballot.· Last week, you officially became a candidate for the White House when you appeared on the primary ballot in California.· The question will appear on the ballot as Prop 107.
· He praised the smooth running of the election, and denied reports that people had been forced to cast their ballots.· The majority of eligible voters said they would rather not cast ballots, leading to the worst percentage voter turnout since 1924.· In Gampola, a United National Party candidate said that when he went to vote, some one had already cast his ballot.· Just four Republicans cast ballots for some one other than Gingrich, six short of the number needed to block his selection.· Theyaccount for nearly one-fifth of the electorate, and will cast the deciding ballots in many constituencies.· Less than half of the voting-age population cast a ballot in November.· Some middle-class voters have supported the Labour Party and about one-third of working-class voters have traditionally cast their ballots for Conservative candidates.· Stephanopoulos turned thirty-one as New Hampshire voters cast their primary ballots.
· Dishonest counting and ballot stuffing are not countenanced.· We will have a portable computer down there election night to count the ballots.· And after his death, it never occurred to anyone that maybe one day the government would count the ballots.· Fortunately, every state has rules on how those votes are counted and which ballots are considered legal.· Marcos, who counted the ballots, declared himself the winner.
· Theyaccount for nearly one-fifth of the electorate, and will cast the deciding ballots in many constituencies.· In the 1994 statewide elections, voters decided nearly 150 ballot initiatives.
· The six teachers are all elected by a ballot of all teaching staff.· The new ministers were elected by an open ballot enbloc.· With the Second Ballot the winning candidate must poll more than half the votes to be elected at the first ballot.
· But unions would be effectively debarred from holding a strike ballot in support of workers already sacked for taking part in unofficial strikes.· The electricians are holding a postal ballot with the results announced after Christmas.· The club thought the fairest way to decide which disabled fans went to Wembley was to hold a ballot.· The unions are already holding a strike ballot because they fear compulsory redundancies.
· To qualify for the ballot, Perot and Lamm each had to get at least 10 percent of the votes cast.· The Natural Law Party qualified for the ballot last December.· Organizers need the valid signatures of 480, 000 voters by April 19 to qualify for the November ballot.· Unfortunately, it only takes about 1, 500 signatures to qualify for the ballot.
· So, in protest, they are voting in local ballots to refuse to cover for staff vacancies or for long-term absences.· The best-film voting went to three ballots and no big studio film was a serious contender.· This year, citizens in 20 states will vote on 89 ballot initiatives on issues from property taxes to gambling to education.· On Dec. 5 the Congress voted by secret ballot on nine amendments to the Constitution.· On April 29, Cahill temporarily blocked backers from collecting signatures to put the immigrant voting measure on the ballot.
· Supporters of Mr Paul Davies, his chief opponent, believe he won on the second ballot.· He said the party is still trying to get enough valid signatures to win ballot access in Texas.· Lincoln won on the third ballot.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1[countable, uncountable] a system of voting, usually in secret, or an occasion when you vote in this way: - The issue will be decided at the ballot box.
- The voters have expressed their views at the ballot box.
- They are determined to win power through the ballot box, not by violence.
- I had to assert the authority of my casting vote.
- In 1996, 8,605 people cast votes for mayor, including 6,570 for Owens.
- Its voters first cast ballots by mail on a state housing initiative in 1993.
- Just four Republicans cast ballots for some one other than Gingrich, six short of the number needed to block his selection.
- The deadline for casting votes is February 1, 2001.
- The majority of eligible voters said they would rather not cast ballots, leading to the worst percentage voter turnout since 1924.
- They can not accept that I should cast votes on their behalf without first asking each of them what they think.
- Those who do are forced to cast a vote of questionable worth.
The party leader is elected by secret ballot. Workers at the plant held a ballot and rejected strike action.► see thesaurus at election2[countable] a piece of paper on which you make a secret vote SYN ballot paper: Only 22% of voters cast their ballots.3 the ballot the total number of votes in an election SYN the vote: He won 54% of the ballot.ballot1 nounballot2 verb
ballotballot2 verb [intransitive, transitive] VERB TABLE
ballot
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | ballot |
| he, she, it | ballots | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | balloted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have balloted |
| he, she, it | has balloted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had balloted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will ballot |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have balloted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am balloting |
| he, she, it | is balloting | |
| you, we, they | are balloting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was balloting |
| you, we, they | were balloting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been balloting |
| he, she, it | has been balloting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been balloting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be balloting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been balloting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Baseball writers will be balloted on Hall of Fame candidates.
- The union will now ballot its members on whether to go ahead with strike action.
- Members ballot for the right to introduce bills on Fridays allocated to this purpose.
- The idea of unions balloting their members before taking industrial action took hold.
- The workforce will be balloted on the issue next month.
THESAURUS
[intransitive, transitive] to show which person or party you want, or whether you support a plan, by marking a piece of paper, raising your hand etc: · I’ve voted Democrat all my life.· You can vote for your favourite singer.· A majority of the people voted for independence.· In tomorrow’s election, many young people will be voting for the first time.
[transitive] to choose a leader, representative, or government by voting, so that they become the new leader, representative etc: · He was elected mayor of London.· the newly-elected government· I think we should start by electing a new chairman.
if a country or voters go to the polls, they vote in an election – used especially in news reports: · The US goes to the polls in November.· The economic crisis could well be a decisive factor when voters go to the polls this autumn.
if a group of people at a meeting take a vote, they vote about something: · We should take a vote on whether or not to accept their offer.· They took a vote and picked Bernard.
formal to mark a piece of paper, call a telephone number etc in order to vote: · The first votes have been cast in the country’s general election.· Click here to cast your vote.
[transitive] to ask the members of an organization to vote on something in order to decide what to do: · The union will ballot its members on whether to go ahead with the strike action.
[transitive] to vote against something that other people have agreed on, so that it cannot happen: · The president has the right to veto any piece of legislation.
Longman Language Activatorto vote to formally choose someone such as a political representative or show your support or disapproval of something, for example by putting a mark on a piece of paper in an election: · In tomorrow's election, many young people will be voting for the first time.· Hundreds of people lost their lives in the past fighting for the right to vote.vote for (=vote to support them): · I haven't decided who I'm going to vote for.· 70% of the population voted for independence.vote against: · Only two people voted against the expansion of the business.vote in favour of something: · The vast majority of people voted in favour of closer links with Europe.vote on: · Teachers will be voting on a proposal to accept the 5% pay offer.vote Republican/Labour etc (=vote for a political party): · I've voted Democrat all my life.
if a group of people have or take a vote , they each make it known which idea they agree with, as a formal way of deciding what to do: · We couldn't agree on a way forward, so we decided to have a vote.have/take a vote on: · I think we should take a vote on whether or not to accept their offer.
also cast a ballot American to vote in a political election: · By the end of the day, less than 40% of the population had cast their votes.· Over three quarters of the votes cast were for the Liberal candidate.· Not until all the ballots have been cast can they be counted.
to ask a group of people to vote on something that has been discussed in order to come to an official decision about it: · Let's put it to the vote. All those in favour raise your hands.· When the matter was put to a vote, the staff voted overwhelmingly not to go on strike.
if someone vetoes a decision that other people have agreed on, they use their official power to refuse to allow it: · The president has the right to veto any piece of legislation.· The deal was agreed by the board but vetoed by the chairman.
to decide something by asking the members of an organization to formally vote on it: · The union will now ballot its members on whether to go ahead with strike action.
if the people of a country or area go to the polls , they vote in a political election - used especially in newspapers and on television or radio: · The people of Houston will go to the polls next week to elect a new mayor.· With only two days left before France goes to the polls, all parties are campaigning hard.
the system of choosing a government by voting - used especially in newspapers and on television or radio: · They are determined to win power through the ballot box, not by violence.· The voters have expressed their views at the ballot box.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Candidates are chosen by a postal ballot of all party members.
(=ones that have been marked incorrectly and so cannot be counted)
Candidates are chosen by a postal ballot of all party members. British English (=when workers vote on whether to strike)· The union is going to hold a strike ballot.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· They now have to ballot their members before being able to call a strike.· The unions are balloting 24,000 members in four companies next week on an indefinite strike.· In one case the union concerned had balloted its members on several variations of industrial action.· The idea of unions balloting their members before taking industrial action took hold.· The breakaway union is balloting its members for a one-day token strike in protest over the amended pit closure plans.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to ask someone to vote for somethingballot on/over- The issue will be decided at the ballot box.
- The voters have expressed their views at the ballot box.
- They are determined to win power through the ballot box, not by violence.
- I had to assert the authority of my casting vote.
- In 1996, 8,605 people cast votes for mayor, including 6,570 for Owens.
- Its voters first cast ballots by mail on a state housing initiative in 1993.
- Just four Republicans cast ballots for some one other than Gingrich, six short of the number needed to block his selection.
- The deadline for casting votes is February 1, 2001.
- The majority of eligible voters said they would rather not cast ballots, leading to the worst percentage voter turnout since 1924.
- They can not accept that I should cast votes on their behalf without first asking each of them what they think.
- Those who do are forced to cast a vote of questionable worth.
Train drivers are being balloted on industrial action.2to vote for somethingballot for Staff balloted for strike action yesterday.► see thesaurus at vote