Legal Definitions - Australian ballot

An Australian ballot is a type of ballot used in elections where the names of all eligible candidates are printed on a uniform ballot by the government. The ballot is marked in secret, ensuring that the person voting cannot be identified. This type of ballot is also known as a secret ballot.

Before Australian ballots became standard, candidates often printed their own ballots with only their names, and watchers at polling places could see whose ballot a voter was casting. This made it easy for candidates to bribe or intimidate voters. The Australian ballot was introduced to prevent this kind of corruption.

Other types of ballots include:

• Absentee ballot: A ballot that a voter submits, sometimes by mail, before an election.
• Party-column ballot: A ballot that lists the candidates' names in separate columns by political party regardless of the offices sought by the candidates.
• Office-block ballot: A ballot that lists the candidates' names under the title of the office sought without mentioning the candidates' party affiliations.

These different types of ballots are designed to suit different voting systems and preferences. For example, the Texas ballot allows voters to mark the candidates that they do not want elected, which is useful when the number of candidates only slightly exceeds a large number of representatives being elected.