Ballot Act 1872

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The Ballot Act 1872 was a UK law that introduced the secret ballot for parliamentary and local government elections. Before the act, votes were cast in public at hustings, which allowed employers, landlords and others to pressure or intimidate voters. The reform came after years of campaigning by radicals and a belief that a private vote would reduce bribery and corruption.

Edward Aldam Leatham, who was connected to reformers like John Bright, introduced the bill. The act made voting private, ending the old public vote and the hustings system. This helped protect voters from pressure and made elections fairer, especially for tenants in Ireland facing landlord influence.

The first use of the secret ballot happened in a by-election in 1872, and the first general election to use it was in 1874. The act contributed to a decline in landlord power in elections, a trend that continued into the 1880s. It was part of a broader shift toward modern electoral procedures, along with other reforms in the period.

The Ballot Act remained in force until it was repealed in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1949, as part of a modernization of UK electoral law.