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Ballot Act 1872
The Ballot Act 1872 was an act of the UK Parliament that introduced the secret ballot for parliamentary and local elections. Passed by Gladstone's first government, it replaced open public voting, which had exposed voters to bribery and to intimidation by landlords and employers, and was first used at the Pontefract by-election of 1872.
Cite this entry
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ballot Act 1872. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ballot-act-1872
- MLA
- “Ballot Act 1872.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ballot-act-1872. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Ballot Act 1872.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ballot-act-1872.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ballot Act 1872’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ballot-act-1872 (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻