First Automatic Secret Ballot Box, 1870

Description

This secret ballot box design was patented and produced by William Gould and was first demonstrated at the National School Rooms, Merthyr Tydfil, on 9 April 1870.

William was a Chartist who campaigned for working class men to gain the vote. William realised that each man's vote must be kept secret so that industrialists and landowners couldn't influence their vote. The principle behind his ballot box was simple. Each voter had a token and each candidate their own ballot box. The voter put the token into the box of their choice and the vote was registered by the clock face on the box. However, despite campaigning, his idea was not adopted by the authorities.