From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishballotbal‧lot1 /ˈbælət/ ●○○ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]PPVVOTE/ELECT a system of voting, usually in secret, or an occasion when you vote in this way The party leader is elected by secret ballot. Workers at the plant held a ballot and rejected strike action.► see thesaurus at election2 [countable]PPVVOTE/ELECT a piece of paper on which you make a secret vote SYN ballot paper Only 22% of voters cast their ballots.3 → the ballot
Examples from the Corpus
ballot• 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.• With the new dynamic of California politics, getting any ballot measure passed with just Anglo votes is fast becoming impossible.• Theyaccount for nearly one-fifth of the electorate, and will cast the deciding ballots in many constituencies.• November's general election ballot• For the first ballot each voter will indicate one choice from the candidates listed. 12.• Calday Grange Grammar School also faced a second ballot over opting out after it applied for grant-maintained status last year.• Under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, elections are by secret ballot.• Voting will be by secret ballot.• The result of the ballot showed that nurses were not in favour or a strike.• The voters are capable of taking a long range outlook when they consider initiatives on the ballot.• Of the 34 seats on the ballot Tuesday, 19 were held by Republicans and 15 by Democrats.• They equally fear losing power through the ballot box.secret ballot• Workers at the Washwood Heath factory voted not to stage industrial action by 761 to 615 in a secret ballot.• Gorbachev's re-election as general secretary Gorbachev was re-elected general secretary on July 10 by secret ballot.• Under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, elections are by secret ballot.• The elections are by secret ballot, and an absolute majority is required.• An election by secret ballot shall be held. 3.• The President would be elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot for a five-year term.• The secret ballot gave these students their first free opportunity to express opposition.• On Oct. 27 the central committee proposed that multi-candidate elections with secret ballots be obligatory.cast ... ballots• Its voters first cast ballots by mail on a state housing initiative in 1993.• The majority of eligible voters said they would rather not cast ballots, leading to the worst percentage voter turnout since 1924.• Of more than 1,300 people registered by Hermandad last year, nearly 800 reportedly cast ballots Nov. 5.• Just four Republicans cast ballots for some one other than Gingrich, six short of the number needed to block his selection.• He praised the smooth running of the election, and denied reports that people had been forced to cast their ballots.• But the only real problem was controlling the crowds of voters pressing forward to cast their ballots.• 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.• Theyaccount for nearly one-fifth of the electorate, and will cast the deciding ballots in many constituencies. ballotballot2 verb [intransitive, transitive] 1 VOTE/ELECTto ask someone to vote for somethingballot on/over Train drivers are being balloted on industrial action.2 to vote for somethingballot for Staff balloted for strike action yesterday.► see thesaurus at vote→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
ballot• Members ballot for the right to introduce bills on Fridays allocated to this purpose.• The union will now ballot its members on whether to go ahead with strike action.• Baseball writers will be balloted on Hall of Fame candidates.• The workforce will be balloted on the issue next month.• The idea of unions balloting their members before taking industrial action took hold.ballot on/over• That would lead to a quick secret ballot on December 5, just before the Strasbourg summit.• On Dec. 5 the Congress voted by secret ballot on nine amendments to the Constitution.• Black turnout in Florida set records-893,000 cast ballots on November. 7, a 65 percent jump over 1996.• Calday Grange Grammar School also faced a second ballot over opting out after it applied for grant-maintained status last year.• Firefighters suspend ballot Britain's firefighters have suspended a ballot on strike action after pay talks with local authority employers.• The remaining members will be balloted on strike action within the next few days.• The workforce will be balloted on the issue next month.• The local Nalgo branch has called a general meeting for tomorrow when members will be balloted on whether to withdraw their labour.From Longman Business Dictionaryballotbal‧lot1 /ˈbælət/ noun [countable, uncountable]1an occasion when people can vote, usually secretly, or a system of voting like thisA ballot of the workforce resulted in a 2-1 vote in favour of industrial action.a committee elected by secret ballotHer union called an immediate strike ballot to decide whether a strike should go ahead.2FINANCE a way of choosing who will get shares when there are too many requests for shares that are being made available for the first timeballotballot2 verb (past tense and past participle balloted or ballotted British English, present participle balloting or ballotting) British English [intransitive, transitive]1to ask people to vote in order to decide somethingThe chairman is elected by ballotting all the shareholders.My union is at present ballotting to decide on industrial action.2FINANCE to choose who will get shares when there are too many requests for shares that are being made available for the first time→ See Verb tableOrigin ballot1 (1500-1600) Italian ballotta, from balla ( → BALLOON1); because small balls were used for voting 