AN IMPROVED BALLOT BOX, OR APPARATUS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF VOTES BY BALLOT
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by Christopher Brakell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th July 1872.
.
I, CHRISTOPHER BRAKELL, of York Street Chambers, York Street,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED BALLOT BOX, OR
APPARATUS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF VOTES BY BALLOT," to be as follows:-
The object of voting by ballot is to enable a voter to register his vote
free from intimidation or fear of injury to his interest, which might
arise from his giving a vote adverse to the wishes of his friends,
connections, or employers. In order that the voter may do this with
perfect security some provision is required by means of which absolutely
no one but the voter himself can by any chance ascertain how he has
voted. A check is also needed to prevent the voter giving more votes
than he is entitled to do, and also to prevent the suppression of any
votes, as in fact the returning officer for an election or his official should
be checked as well as the voter.
By means of my improved ballot box or apparatus for the registration
of votes by ballot I secure perfect secrecy for the voter, absolute security
against the votes being tampered with or suppressed, undoubted
accuracy in checking the votes as given one by one, and voters who
cannot read or write can personally register their votes.

page_text: My improved apparatus consists of a chamber or box having two
doors, an inlet -door and an outlet door. Inside the chamber is a
projection from the side, after the manner of a small table, in which aro
a number of holes of equal number to the candidates for election, and
each candidate has to have his name painted or otherwise marked on
one of the holes referred to. Also for the use of those voters who cannot
read, each candidate shall have a certain distinguishing colour attached
to his name on the said hole.
In connection with each hole is a mechanical counter or register, so
that a ball placed into one of the holes will in its passage down press on
a sort of lever and indicate on a dial one vote for the candidate whose
name appears over the hole. The ball will then roll down an incline
to an open box outside of the chamber and be ready for the next voter.
After thus registering his votes the voter will leave the chamber by the
outlet door referred to.
To check each voter there may be a larger counter with dial on the
outside of the voting chamber, and as each ball registers on what may
be called the candidates dial, a continuous number shall by the same
action be shown on the public dial; and supposing that each voter has
two or more votes the public dial shall rise an equal number as each
voter passes through the voting chamber. Of course each voter should
prove his identity before he is allowed to enter the voting chamber,
which can be done as follows:-Each voter should have a certain
number on the register of voters, and in passing up to the chamber he
should give up his card bearing his number to the proper officials who
would cross it out of the register, so that no other card bearing a similar
number would be able to pass.
The candidates dials would be locked up under cover, and at the close
of the election the returning officer would unlock the cover and see at a
glance the number of votes each candidate had obtained.
The counter or register is arranged so that only one ball would
time