Failsafe Ballot

Primary definition

A ballot for use in VOTING. "There must be provided for each voting place a FAIL-SAFE number of failsafe ballots, or ballots containing only the races for federal, statewide, countywide, and municipalwide offices, not to exceed five percent of the registered qualified voters at the voting place." S. C. Code §7-13-430(C). A failsafe ballot is a limited form of BALLOT. If the voter's name is not on the registration list for a reason other than PROVISIONAL his having moved, he is not eligible for a failsafe ballot.

Also known asfail-safe ballot · emergency ballot · contingency ballot · backup ballot
1 sources cited4 related termsReviewed Aug 9, 2026
Electronic Voting GlossaryView source

Understand more election terms clearly

Get one important election term explained each week, with authoritative sources, practical context and related definitions.

Free. One useful email each week. Unsubscribe anytime.Learn more about the ESG newsletter →
EVG
Carnegie Mellon University

A ballot for use in VOTING. "There must be provided for each voting place a FAIL-SAFE number of failsafe ballots, or ballots containing only the races for federal, statewide, countywide, and municipalwide offices, not to exceed five percent of the registered qualified voters at the voting place." S. C. Code §7-13-430(C). A failsafe ballot is a limited form of BALLOT. If the voter's name is not on the registration list for a reason other than PROVISIONAL his having moved, he is not eligible for a failsafe ballot.

Electronic Voting Glossary · 2024

Cite this term

Permanent URL · stable across revisions
Election Security Glossary. (2026). Failsafe Ballot. In Election Security Glossary. Retrieved August 20, 2026, from https://electionsecurityglossary.com/glossary/failsafe-ballot

Sources

1 cited · last checked Aug 9, 2026

01

Electronic Voting Glossary
Electronic Voting Glossary

Single-source

View source

Get the weekly election term

Receive one cited, source-backed election explanation in your inbox each week.

Get election terms explained weekly →
Free · Nonpartisan · Unsubscribe anytime.
Continue Research

Keep going from here

Three ways to go deeper on voting systems and adjacent terminology.