short ballot

noun

1. a ballot containing only candidates for the most important legislative and executive posts, leaving judicial and lesser administrative posts to be filled by appointment.

Word History and Origins

Origin of short ballot¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

This incident of the "short ballot" illustrates the cleavage between invention and routine.

From Project Gutenberg

The "short ballot" in itself is a slight affair, but the insight behind it seems to me capable of revolutionary development.

From Project Gutenberg

A splendid account by the father of the short ballot movement.

From Project Gutenberg

President Wilson, like many of his predecessors at the National capital, is vindicating the principle of the short ballot.

From Project Gutenberg

Nearly three hundred of them have adopted the short ballot in charters that confer government by commission.

From Project Gutenberg