Ballot

Ballot is the name given to a piece of paper used to record someone's vote. The name is derived from the Italian 'ballotta' a small coloured ball used to be placed in a container to register a vote about mid 16th century.

The ballot paper typically contains name and symbol of contesting candidates, and voters are supposed to mark the candidate of their choice. After marking, the ballot is folded and dropped in the ballot box kept at the polling station. All the ballot boxes are then collected at a place for counting of votes polled through the ballots.

The process of secret voting through writing is also called ballot. And the ballot is also the total number of votes cast.