page_title: Ballot laws of the Roman Republic
section_title: Voting after the ballot laws
hierarchical_section_title: Ballot laws of the Roman Republic / Voting after the ballot laws
caption_attribution_description: English: A coin from 113-112 BC, depicting voting in the Roman Republic. On the left, a voter receives a ballot from an attendant below. On the right, another voter casts his ballot into the ballot box (cista). Both voters are standing upon a pons.
context_page_description: The ballot laws of the Roman Republic were four laws which introduced the secret ballot to all popular assemblies in the republic. They were all introduced by tribunes, and consisted of the lex Gabinia tabellaria of 139 BC, applying to the election of magistrates; the lex Cassia tabellaria of 137 BC, applying to juries except in cases of treason; the lex Papiria of 131 BC, applying to the passing of laws; and the lex Caelia of 107 BC, which expanded the lex Cassia to include matters of treason. Prior to the ballot laws, voters announced their votes orally to a teller, essentially making every vote public. The ballot laws curtailed the influence of the aristocratic class and expanded the freedom of choice for voters. Elections became more competitive. Counter-intuitively, the secret ballot also led to an increase in bribery by removing social pressure as a means of obtaining votes.
context_section_description: The ballot itself was a small wooden tablet covered with wax, called a tabella cerata.  Voters would walk across a narrow causeway, called the pons, and be handed a ballot by an attendant (rogator).  The voter would mark the ballot and deposit it into a ballot box (cista) made of wicker.  The cista was watched over by guards (custodes).  It was a great honor to be asked to be a rogator or custos, and only distinguished men were assigned to these roles.  In addition to the guards appointed by the presiding officer, each candidate was entitled to a guard at each ballot box.
  To elect magistrates, voters expressed their preference by inscribing the initials of their preferred candidate with a stylus.  They were expected to write in their own hand, and discovering multiple ballots with the same handwriting was considered evidence of fraud.  When voting to fill multiple positions, such as the ten tribunes, it is unclear whether citizens inscribed the initials of only one candidate or of all ten.  Nicolet argues for the single vote theory, pointing out that one round of voting sometimes failed to fill all tribune positions or even both consulships. Taylor believes the balance of evidence is against the single vote theory.  However individuals were expected to vote and however the votes were aggregated, it is clear that a century or tribe was expected to send forth as many names as there were positions to be filled.
  For judicial assemblies, jurymen were handed pre-inscribed ballots with A on one side and D on the other, representing Absolvo ("I acquit") or Damno ("I condemn").  The jurymen were expected to erase one of the letters without revealing their verdict.  It was also possible for the ballot to contain L ("libero") instead of A, or C ("condemno") instead of D.  The juror could even erase both sides of the ballot to indicate that the matter is unclear to him.
  For legislation, voters wrote V for Uti rogas (“as you ask”) or A for antiquo “as they are” to express approval or disapproval of a proposal.  A coin from 63 BCE (right) depicts a voter dropping a ballot inscribed with "V" into a cista, indicating approval of a proposal.
caption: A coin from 113–112 BC, showing the only known depiction of a voting scene in the Roman Republic.[53] On the left, a voter receives a ballot from an attendant below.  On the right, another voter casts his ballot into the ballot box (cista). Both voters are standing upon a pons.
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