1. pieces of paper or electronic forms used to cast votes in an election
2. the total number of votes cast in an election

Examples

• Voters marked their ballots carefully before submitting them.
• The election officials counted all the ballots by hand.
• Absentee ballots must be received by 5 PM on election day.
• The candidate’s name appeared on ballots in all fifty states.
• Electronic ballots are becoming more common in modern elections.
• Poll workers distributed fresh ballots to each voter.
• The final tally showed over 10,000 ballots were cast in the local race.