It would not be usual to use such systems for normal voting, though they can be effective for use in special voting facilities such as early or absentee voting, where timetables or complexity of materials supply may prevent the use of ballots fully printed with party or candidate details. In some jurisdictions, voters use tokens, rather than ballots, to indicate their choice of party or candidate. Each party or candidate is represented by a different token, often distinguished by colour, and the voter chooses the appropriate one. This method can be effective in countries with generally lower literacy levels. Within this category itself, there are multiple variations of method.
Some variations depend on the electoral system employed.
Allowable marks would often be defined in legislation and could be restricted to a numeric one, or include other allowable marks such as a check or a cross. Accessibility and equity principles would dictate that the nature of the mark itself was not important and that the only important matter is that the voter has clearly indicated a preference. These requirements can be more conducive to voter error, and less expeditious to count. The electoral system may require voters to cope with combinations of ballot types, for example, where simultaneous elections are for different chambers of a legislature elected using different voting systems. It is very important that voter education and information programs make very clear to voters the manner in which they must indicate their preferred party or candidates.