Voters express their choices on a ballot. The ballot is the physical or electronic instrument that records a preference in an election, usually designed to protect secrecy so that no one can determine how a particular person voted.

Paper ballots, optical-scan sheets, and touch-screen machines are common forms. The design of the ballot—candidate order, clarity of instructions, language accessibility—can affect turnout and error rates. Election administrators print, distribute, collect, and count ballots under procedures meant to prevent fraud and ensure an accurate tally.

Secret ballots became standard in many democracies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as a safeguard against intimidation and vote buying. Absentee and mail ballots extend the franchise to those unable to appear in person. Disputes over ballot access, design, and counting rules regularly reach the courts and shape public confidence in electoral outcomes.

A single properly cast ballot is the basic unit of democratic choice.