A manually counted paper ballot is the most common method of voting in use around the world today. The system arose because of a desire for secrecy. Initially, voters (still white, landed men) wrote a name on a slip of paper, which they placed in a locked box.
As the political parties grew, they began printing a "ticket" that listed everyone running for office under the party flag. To vote a "straight ticket," the voter merely had to drop the ballot in the box. A "split ticket" meant voters had to cross out the offending name and "write in" their preference.
Australia pioneered state-printed ballots, which were first adopted in the US by the state of New York in 1889. By the turn of the century, this state-sanctioned ballot was widely adopted in the US as one way to minimize the possibility of fraud in counting the ballots cast.
"Vote early and vote often."
- Al Capone
As the political parties grew, they began printing a "ticket" that listed everyone running for office under the party flag. To vote a "straight ticket," the voter merely had to drop the ballot in the box. A "split ticket" meant voters had to cross out the offending name and "write in" their preference.
Australia pioneered state-printed ballots, which were first adopted in the US by the state of New York in 1889. By the turn of the century, this state-sanctioned ballot was widely adopted in the US as one way to minimize the possibility of fraud in counting the ballots cast.
"Vote early and vote often."
- Al Capone