Secret Ballot

A secret ballot is a voting method that protects the privacy of each voter's selections so other people cannot determine how that individual voted. Ballot secrecy reduces opportunities for coercion, retaliation, and vote buying. Election procedures support secrecy through private marking, anonymous ballots, controlled handling, and limits on records that link voters to choices.

The U.S. Constitution does not contain a single nationwide clause expressly requiring the modern secret ballot for all elections. Ballot secrecy is instead protected through state constitutions, statutes, election procedures, and other legal principles, with federal law also addressing intimidation and voting rights. The exact legal framework depends on the election and jurisdiction.

Ballot secrecy is important because voters should be able to choose freely without having to prove their vote to employers, parties, family members, officials, or people offering rewards or threats. By breaking the link between voter identity and ballot selections, secret-ballot procedures make coercion and vote buying harder to enforce.