What is the secret ballot?

Along with the invention of the beloved democracy sausage, Australia also blazed a trail in election reform by pioneering the modern secret ballot, or Australian ballot as it is also known. It's a reform that changed democracy here in Australia and around the world.

What is a secret ballot?

A secret ballot is a voting method where the voter keeps their identity anonymous to provide political privacy. The aim is to avoid voter intimidation and any form of retribution for not voting in a specific way. Typically, when voting by secret ballot, the voter anonymously marks a government-issued ballot paper with their choice/choices, folds it to hide their vote and places it into a sealed box through a small opening.

The modern secret ballot was first used in Victoria in 1856. A small but important design tweak of marking 'X' against a candidate's name, rather than crossing out an unwanted name, was introduced in South Australia shortly afterwards. The South Australian version is known as the Australian ballot. This is the system we use to vote here in Australia.

People wearing winter clothes vote privately in cardboard polling booths in Old Parliament House.

White ballot boxes for Canberra and Fenner are set up on green carpet in Old Parliament House. Australian Electoral Commission staff in purple vests stand next to the boxes.

A voter puts a folded yellow ballot paper in a purple ballot box in Old Parliament House.

Voting at Old Parliament House using the modern secret ballot, or Australian ballot, method of voting anonymously.

How did Australians vote before the secret ballot?

In the first parliamentary elections held in Australia, the Legislative Council of New South Wales elections held in 1843, the British open voting system of casting ballots in public was used. The elections were mostly held in pubs and nominations were made in public, outside the pub. On voting day, voters wrote their candidate's name on a piece of paper, signed it and gave it to an officer, who had them say who they voted for out loud.

The elections were rough, chaotic and rife with intimidation and bribery, especially in the form of free drinks and food provided by candidates to influence and subsequently reward those who voted for them.

Even though only men who owned or rented substantial property were allowed to vote, the wild, party-like atmosphere in each electoral district drew big crowds. Hourly vote counts were posted to increasingly unruly crowds, and two men were killed amid riots, fighting and damage to property and campaign booths.

A black and white drawing from 1855 of a rowdy crowd in a pub looking at a raised platform where a man addresses them. Signs around the pub read 'Vote for Mooney'.

A North Bourke candidate campaigning to a rowdy crowd in a pub. Printed and published by Edgar Ray and Frederick Sinnett, 1855. State Library of Victoria

The invention of the modern secret ballot

The gold rushes of the 1850s saw an influx of migrants to Australia who brought new ideas about how the various Australian colonies could run their governments. One of these reforms was that voters should be allowed to cast their ballots in secret.

In December 1855, Victorian Legislative Council member William Nicholson submitted a Bill to the Victorian Cabinet for voting by secret ballot. There was strong opposition from wealthy members of the Council wanting to defend the older system, but Nicholson secured support for the Bill and the law came into effect on 19 March 1856.

Another legislative member, Henry Chapman, devised a system for how the secret ballot would work. The government would print ballot papers with the names of all the candidates to be distributed by government election officials. On polling day, the voter would collect a ballot paper from an official, who would mark his name off the roll, then go into another room to vote in private with provided pen, ink and blotting paper. The voter would cross out the names of candidates he didn't support, then put his folded ballot in a box.

An old-fashioned wooden ballot box with a aged bronzed padlock on the front.

A mid-19th century ballot box with a lockable lid to prevent vote tampering used after the secret ballot was introduced in Australia.

Aged yellow papers with calligraphy text including '56 Ballot papers' and '29 March 1901' are tied together with aged hessian ribbon.

Collection of ballot papers from the Parramatta electoral division, 1901.

Having the government provide the ballot papers rather than the parties, candidates or voters themselves was an innovative approach. This process was further refined with the idea of having stalls, so multiple people could vote in private at the same time.

Victoria was the first to try this new system in 1856 to elect the first Victorian parliament. In addition to using a secret ballot, the results were announced at the end, rather than an hourly vote count. It was reportedly a civilised election without voter intimidation, bribery or disorderly, drunken crowds. The secret ballot was considered a resounding success.

Historical black and white engraving from 1880 of men in a polling booth. One man puts his ballot in a box marked 'A to C'.

Inside a polling booth, 31 July 1880. Wood engraving published in Melbourne by David Syme and Co. State Library of Victoria

The secret ballot becomes the Australian ballot

South Australia and Tasmania followed Victoria shortly afterwards, passing secret ballot laws in 1856. New South Wales passed secret ballot legislation in 1858.

However, South Australia made a small but significant change to the voting method. William Boothby produced a ballot allowing South Australian voters to place an 'X' in the box beside their candidate's name rather than crossing out the candidates they didn't want to vote for. This system became known as the Australian ballot and was adopted in Britain in 1872, followed by the US after the 1884 presidential elections, and then widely around the world.

People vote in partitioned polling booths in a hall.

A nun wearing a habit puts a ballot paper into a ballot box marked 'Scullin'.

Two AEC officials, one in a yellow vest and one in a purple vest, stand beside a cardboard ballot box for Canberra in King's Hall in Old Parliament House.

Voting in Australia using the Australian secret ballot system.
Images one and two: Photography courtesy of the Australian Electoral Commission

Was voting in secret used prior to the Australian ballot?

Yes! Secret voting was used in a handful of countries including France, Belgium, Switzerland and some American states prior to the invention of the Australian ballot. However, most secret voting methods weren't actually very confidential. For instance, in America candidates printed pre-filled out voting cards in a specific colour, making it easy to identify who the voter's chosen candidate or party was.

What was the British open voting method?

Prior to 1872 when the Ballot Act introduced secret ballots for British elections, Britain voted via the open voting method. Voters would gather outdoors and raise their hand to vote or mark a piece of paper with their choice and hand it to an official, who read out who they had voted for.

As members of parliament weren't paid at the time, candidates were usually wealthy landowners and with open voting, they knew who had voted for them and who hadn't. The practice of 'treating' – distributing refreshments and food to influence voters – was widespread, along with voter intimidation and punishment. Wealthy landowners were known to evict people from their land if they didn't vote for them.