secret ballot
9
3.4
- noun
- /ˈsiːkrɪt ˈbælət/
:
voto secreto
- This was a secret ballot.
- suffrage and secret ballot
- universal secret ballot
And that is the virtue of the secret ballot is that you find out what people really think.
- And that is the virtue of the secret ballot is that you find out what people really think.
- It's supposed to be a secret ballot, and no, he doesn't.
Examples
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Voting is by secret ballot, and the process of nominating candidates is remarkably open.
Academic text (1996) -
Since Minnesota's electors cast secret ballots, no one knows for sure who did it or why.
Blog text (4) -
We agreed that this would be a secret ballot.
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We'll have a secret ballot here.
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Like in a real election, it was a secret ballot.
Blog text (24) -
They just voted by secret ballot and a simple majority decided the issue.
-
The Teamsters had urged the smaller union to hold a secret ballot on whether to continue striking.
Blog text (30) -
We complete a secret ballot to choose the Fluency Idol for the week.
Academic text (2013) -
The Teamsters union is urging the bakers' union to hold a secret ballot on whether to continue striking.
Blog text (7) -
The committee decided to use a secret ballot to ensure everyone's choice remained confidential.
Synonyms
11
5.5
Voting in secret to choose between people or ideas
How Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a confidential voting method' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'secret' (confidential) with 'ballot' (voting paper/method). This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition following common English and cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Secret ballot comes from the simple idea that each voter's paper (the ballot) is kept secret by filling it in a private booth or dropping it into a closed box so no one can see the choice. So, the phrase means a way of voting where each person's choice is kept 'private' to protect them from pressure.