ballot box

noun

1
: a box for receiving ballots
2
Phrases
stuff the ballot box
chiefly US
: to attempt to control the outcome of an election by having multiple illegitimate votes cast in support of the desired candidate
They said the vote-rigging included stuffing ballot boxes, buying votes and absent names on the voter rolls.Sonia Verma
By a margin of just 277 votes (some say ballot boxes were stuffed), Brooklyn, the nation's fourth-largest city, had voted to give up its proud and independent history.James Sterngold

Examples of ballot box in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That's the highest of this term and could spell potential trouble at the ballot box in next year's midterm elections, particularly with prices of many goods still high. Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2025 Denverites should keep one thing in mind at the ballot box this November – Denver Public Schools has some of the very best schools in the state and also some of the very worst schools in the state. The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025 But the map faces an onslaught of attacks in the courtroom and, potentially, the ballot box. Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 2025 Certainly, Natthaphong knows that the electoral landscape has completely transformed in the two short years since his 70 million-strong nation last went to the ballot box. Charlie Campbell, Time, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ballot box

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1677, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ballot box was circa 1677

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Cite this Entry

“Ballot box.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballot%20box. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.

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