Londonderry’s Secret Ballot
The Ballot Act received royal assent on 18 July. Its central principle was simple but far-reaching: an elector marked a ballot paper in private rather than announcing his choice aloud. In Ireland, where elections had often been occasions for deference, intimidation, treating and large public processions, secrecy promised a measure of independence for the voter. It did not make elections fully modern. The electorate was narrow, women could not vote, and candidates and local patrons retained enormous influence. Nor did the Act settle every concern about corruption. But it ended open voting as the normal form of parliamentary choice.