The Ballot Box

A ballot box makes it possible to organise a secret election, where voters can cast their votes in secrecy.  When a voter enters the polling station, their eligibility is checked against the electoral roll before being allowed to vote in one of the polling booths. After casting his vote, the voter places his ballot paper in the ballot box, which has been sealed and inspected by the election administrator.

Voting materials for voting via ballot box

The execution of an election with a ballot box requires an appropriate polling station, polling booth as well as the ballot box for protecting ballot secrecy. In addition, (voluntary) election workers are needed to ensure the election runs as smoothly as possible.  At every stage of a secret election via ballot box certain rules and regulations have to be followed, some of which are statutory.

Four Facts About Ballot Boxes

Ballot boxes can be controversial objects and can sometimes even be blamed for electoral fraud. There are various laws and regulations which aim to prevent this. These regulations differ internationally, regionally and between organizations, but these are some features that you should bear in mind:

1. The ballot box needs to have a lid.
2. The height of the box on the inside should normally be around 90cm and the distance between the facing walls should be no less than 35cm.
3. The top of the ballot box should have a slit no wider than 2cm.
4. The ballot box must be lockable and sealable.

Ballot box voting: the ballot

The ballot box has to protect the secrecy of ballot. Therefore it should be constructed in a way that the ballot papers inside the ballot box can’t be accessed and removed without opening up the locked box completely.

Normally, the electoral regulations state that an election has to be supervised by election workers and a member of the election committee. This is an essential aspect of a secret election. Therefore at least one member of the election committee and one election worker should be present in the ballot room during the election and make sure the secrecy of ballot is secured.

Read more about Polling booths and stations here

How the Digital Ballot Box Works

Thanks to POLYAS’ secure system architecture, the secrecy of the ballot can also be secured online. The POLYAS voting software works similar to traditional ballot boxes and collects votes without knowing the voters identity. That is made possible by hosting the electoral roll, polling cards and ballot box on different servers. Consequently, your voters can cast their ballots securely and confidentially. Using a digital ballot box will you get legally watertight election results by the push of a button as well as the chance to provide for your voters the comforts of the digital world.

Learn more about how online voting works here!