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.
When asked Tuesday if blue city leaders will pay at the ballot box for being weak on crime, Trump answered affirmatively. Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 27 Aug. 2025 One thing is clear: voters want and need to have the power back at the ballot box. Adena Ishii, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2025 But Thailand’s youth were invigorated and their protests, which were ultimately put down by authorities, ignited a progressive political movement that led to unprecedented electoral gains at the ballot box three years later. Helen Regan, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025 Sixty years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, a landmark law that helped end the Jim Crow era and opened the ballot box to millions of Black Americans. NBC news, 10 Aug. 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 4 Sep. 2025.

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