Ballot.
Ballot. In General. Balloting may be had in a lodge on the election of officers, on the admission of a petitioner for degrees, or any other matter which the Master thinks ought to be handled by written ballot. Except where white and black balls or cubes are used, a ballot is a written vote, usually consisting of a slip of paper on which a preference is indicated, as the name of a candidate, or a choice of yes or no. In the election of officers, the ballots are usually collected by a board of tellers who count the votes and tally them audibly.
Ballot-box.
In balloting on petitioners for degrees, the general practice in this country is to employ a ballot-box consisting of a fore and aft arrangement of compartments, with a hole in the partition between them, so that the voter reaches into the near closed compartment, selects a white or black ball and passes it through the hole into the second compartment where it is not to be seen until the Master or generally the Junior Warden, Senior Warden, and Master, in that order, have inspected the box. In some places, a black cube is used instead of a black ball as an additional precaution against error. In most English lodges, only white balls are used to be placed in a yes or a no compartment, a system which would seem more conducive to mistake. Before passing the ballot-box, it is examined and cleared by the Master, who also ascertains that there are both white and black balls in the storage compartment. It may then be passed among the members or, as is more usually the manner, placed on the altar, where the voters approach it one by one and cast their ballots. Details are slightly different in the several jurisdictions.
The use of white and black balls or balls cast into different receptacles may be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, where voting for various purposes, even verdicts of juries, required the voters to march by and cast shells or pebbles in vases or jars. Our word ostracized comes from the practice of ancient Greece wherein one was b*nished or cleared according to the casting of shells (ostraka).
Unanimity of the Ballot.
Article VI of the General Regulations published by the Grand Lodge in 1723 required that the vote on admission of a petitioner be unanimous
because the Members of a particular Lodge are the best Judges of it; and if a fractious Member should be impos’d on them, it might spoil their Harmony, or hinder their Freedom; or even break and disperse the Lodge.
In the Constitutions of 1738, Dr. Anderson said:
But it was found inconvenient to insist upon unanimity in several cases; and therefore the Grand Masters have allowed the Lodges to admit a Member if not above three Ballots are against him; though some Lodges desire no such allowance.
Rule 190 of the United Grand Lodge of England provides that 3 black balls reject, but that the by-laws of a lodge may require but one or two to reject. Rule 127 of the Grand Lodge of Ireland requires unanimity unless the lodge by-law is to the contrary, which seems to mean that a lodge may require any number of black balls from one or more to reject.
The Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Scotland prescribes that ”Three black balls shall exclude a candidate. Lodges in the Colonies and in foreign parts may enact that two black balls shall exclude.” In the United States, the rule everywhere is that one black ball or cube rejects. In recent years the great rush of petitioners for degrees, particularly in the two World Wars, led to the optional method of balloting on petitioners in groups of five or less. If the ballot was clear, fair, or white, all was well, but one black vote meant that each of the five petitioners then had to be voted on alone. This is still the practice where permitted. In the 1980s balloting on petitions was greatly relaxed in many jurisdictions. In many it takes two, three, four, or a varying number of black cubes to stop a petitioner. In others the objectors must make their views known to the Master of the lodge within a specified time, otherwise the petitioner is declared elected to receive the degrees.
Ticket.
There is not supposed to be any ticket or slate of candidates for lodge office, though it is suspected that this rule is sometimes disregarded even by a Grand Lodge. In most places, the only list of petitioners is such as may have been sent to the members in advance of the meeting or posted in the ante-room a month or so before the balloting and, according to the best procedure, the Master also announces the name of each candidate three times before the balloting and once afterwards, so that there is ample opportunity for the brethren to be familiar with the names to be voted on.
Electing of officers, especially in Grand Lodges, vary widely today. There are jurisdictions where the Grand Master is selected by the Past Grand Masters exclusively. In many jurisdictions long ballots list the names of those running for office. The voting delegates mark their ballots and tellers count them at a pre-determined time. Electioneering is encouraged in some states; it’s illegal in others. In this, as in all instances, the laws of the Grand Lodge must be determined and followed.
Reconsideration of the Ballot.
It is the usual rule that reconsideration of the ballot may not be had on motion and vote of the lodge, but the whole subject is usually covered by statute or regulation. For example, in California, there is no reconsideration of a favorable vote; but if only one black cube appears, the possibility of mistake is recognized and a second ballot is mandatory, which second ballot is conclusive. If a member has cast a white ball when he intended to cast a black cube, his remedy is not by reconsideration of the ballot but by making objection to the admission of the petitioner directly and privately to the Master, which requires a statement of reasons. It will be observed that, in American Union Lodge, (q.v.), one black ball required a second ballot, and a second black ball at that time required a third ballot, which ended the voting.
Secrecy of the Ballot.
The ravages of anachronism stand out in most discussions of secrecy of the ballot, the impression being given that it is an ancient and fundamental tenet of Freemasonry, and some writers almost seem to feel that it has some sacred implications so that any criticism of it might almost threaten the existence of the Society. But there is little evidence of a secret ballot until well along in the 18th century, and there was probably no ballot-box or other safeguard of a private ballot until the 19th. There is a widespread opinion that it is improper for anyone but the Master to mention the petitioner’s name before the ballot, but it is entirely proper for a member to rise and ask for more information or to make some statement about the petitioner’s character or to suggest that some particular activity of his may be investigated. The purpose of the petition and the ballot is to get qualified men into the Society and to keep unqualified men out, and any reasonable procedure directed to that end is good Masonry. It is the usual rule now in the United States, that no one may seek to find how another has voted, and that no one may even disclose how he, himself, has voted on the admission of a petitioner. There is also a rule that every member present in lodge must vote, the reason for which rule is generally misunderstood. Obviously, if those favoring a certain petitioner anticipated that there was likely to be a black ball, they could conspire to withhold their votes, thus, narrowing the number of those who might cast the black ball and make the discovery of the one or ones who did so the easier. Also, if those voting for a petitioner were permitted to disclose that fact, the one who had cast the black ball could soon be isolated. Notwithstanding all that has been legislated and said about secrecy of the ballot, there are decisions declaring it a Masonic off*nse to abuse the privileges of the ballot by blackballing a petitioner out of spite, but it is difficult to see how one can be c*nvicted on evidence the disclosure of which is unlawful!
