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NM Freemason · Skills & Drills · Chapter 31

The Ballot

Drawn from published Masonic monitor content. See site Credits for source citations.

Vocabulary (7)

Ballot box
A purpose-built box, traditionally wooden, with a drawer of white spheres and (in most jurisdictions) black cubes. Each voting brother privately selects one and drops it through the box's slot.
White sphere
A white ball cast in the ballot signifies a favorable vote: the brother is willing to receive the candidate.
Black cube
A black cube (in some jurisdictions a black ball, hence "blackball") signifies an unfavorable vote. The cube shape, where used, makes the vote feel less casual than a ball.
Privacy of the ballot
Each brother's vote is private. No one (not the Master, not the brother who proposed the candidate, not the Investigation Committee) knows who voted how. The privacy is published Masonic law.
Unanimous favorable result
The published standard: a single black cube rejects the candidate. The high bar reflects the centrality of harmony to a Lodge, since admitting a brother whom some present cannot accept disrupts that harmony.
Examination of the box
The Master examines the box first. If clear (all white), he passes it to the Wardens, who each examine in turn. If anyone sees a black cube, the box is sometimes passed a second time to allow correction of an accidental selection.
Confidentiality of the result
If the ballot is favorable, the candidate is told he has been elected. If unfavorable, the published rule is simply that he is told the ballot was not favorable: no count of black cubes, no investigation of who voted how.

Multiple-choice (4)

1. What does a single black cube in the ballot box mean?
  1. A signal that further investigation is required
  2. The candidate is rejected; the standard is unanimous favorable ✓
  3. A trial ballot, used only for practice
  4. A request for a second vote next month
2. Who knows how an individual brother voted?
  1. The Worshipful Master
  2. The Investigation Committee
  3. The candidate's proposer
  4. No one; the ballot is private by published Masonic law ✓
3. Who first examines the ballot box?
  1. The Worshipful Master ✓
  2. The Senior Warden
  3. The Junior Warden
  4. The candidate's recommenders
4. What is the candidate told if the ballot is unfavorable?
  1. The exact number of black cubes
  2. The identities of any objecting brothers
  3. Simply that the ballot was not favorable ✓
  4. Nothing; he is never told