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Massachusetts State Seal
Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

Nothing to Hide: Voting as A Public Act

Through most of the nineteenth century, voting choices were stated publicly by voice (in many states) or by submitting names openly to election officials (common in Massachusetts). States did not print ballots for Election Day.


Viva Voce
The term means voting by voice. The laws of many states specified “viva voce” voting during this period.

viva voce painting
A voter takes an oath before stating his election choices publicly by voice. George Caleb Bingham, The County Election, 1852. - St. Louis Museum of Art

That’s the Ticket
Newly formed political parties printed lists with the names of their candidates for various offices. Voters carried them to the polls and used them as a reference when voting. Because printed lists of party candidates resembled the lists of station stops for trains, the lists of favored candidates were called “tickets.”

Union Ticket
Library of Congress
Republican Ticket
Library of Congress
American Ticket
Public Domain
Regular Republican Ticket
Hingham Historical Society

Henshaw v. Foster
Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore, Whig candidates for President and Vice President in 1850. In Massachusetts many conservative factory owners favored the Whig party and opposed the secret ballot. Library of Congress


A poster of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore

Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore


A hand written letter

An Act for the better Security of the Ballot, 1851.

Secret Ballot Controversy
The Whig Party – supported by many factory owners – favored public voting, openly declaring a choice. Reformers argued that a secret ballot would prevent intimidation of voters by employers. In 1851 the Massachusetts legislature mandated that the Secretary of State provide envelopes for voters to keep their choice confidential – a practice that was met with suspicion. “To say that the citizen should vote with a sealed bag…is an act of despotism,” wrote one critic. The requirement was later repealed.