North Carolina Should Allow Secret Ballots, Absentee Ballots, 1919

From the editorial page of the Hickory Daily Record, March 8, 1919. The Australian ballot, also called the secret ballot, is a system that ensures individuals can cast their votes in secret without pressure to vote for a certain candidate.

The Australian ballot should be adopted in North Carolina. Every man has the right to vote as he wants to, and he should be permitted to do it without having a lot of folks handing out tickets or craning their necks to see if he is “regular.” Sick and absent voters also should be allowed to cast their ballots.