Electoral Act 1856

Electoral Act 1856

The "Electoral Act 1856" was an act of the government of Victoria which introduced voting by secret ballot. The act was passed by a one vote majority on March 13 1856; it was enacted when it received assent from the Governor of Victoria on March 19 of the same year.

Victorian law was the third of its kind enacted by a government anywhere in the world. France adopted the secret ballot in the late 18th century. Tasmania adopted the secret ballot second on February 7 1856. South Australia enacted a similar law two weeks after the Victorian law, on April 2 1856; led by secret Ballot pioneer and advocate William Boothby. When the practice was adopted in the United States, it was called 'the Australian ballot'.

References

*National Archives of Australia. [http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?dID=84 Documneting Democracy - Electoral Act 1856 (Vic)]
*Terry Newman, 'Tasmania and the Secret Ballot' (2003), 49(1) Aust J Pol & Hist 93 [http://www.enrollingthepeople.com/tasmania/newman_tasmania_and_secret_ballot.pdf]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 1856 in Australia — See also: 1855 in Australia, other events of 1856, 1857 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.Incumbents Governors Governors of the Australian colonies: *Governor of New South Wales Sir William Denison *Governor Queensland office… …   Wikipedia

  • Electoral system of Australia — This article is about elections to the Australian Parliament. For elections to Australian states and territories, see Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories. For the method of voting known as the Australian ballot, see Secret… …   Wikipedia

  • Electoral College (United States) — Electoral votes by state/federal district, for the elections of 2012, 2016 and 2020, with apportionment changes between the 2000 and 2010 Censuses …   Wikipedia

  • Electoral fraud — Articleissues|article=y cleanup=January 2008 wikify=January 2008Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud tend to involve affecting vote counts to bring about a desired election outcome, whether by… …   Wikipedia

  • Electoral district of Perth — Infobox Australian Electorate name = Perth state = wa caption = lifespan = 1890–1950, 1962–present mp = John Hyde mp party = Labor namesake = Perth area = 20.9 class = North MetropolitanThe Electoral district of Perth is a Legislative Assembly… …   Wikipedia

  • The Electoral Atlas of New South Wales — The Atlas Although NSW has been mapped since the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 there is no existing atlas that gives an opportunity to explore the development of responsible government since its inception in NSW in 1856. Therefore, the… …   Wikipedia

  • Système électoral australien — Australie Cet article fait partie de la série sur la politique de l Australie, sous série sur la politique …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Australian electoral system — This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. For the Australian state and territories, see Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories. The Australian electoral system has evolved over nearly 150 years of… …   Wikipedia

  • United States presidential election, 1856 — Infobox Election election name = United States presidential election, 1856 country = United States type = presidential ongoing = no previous election = United States presidential election, 1852 previous year = 1852 next election = United States… …   Wikipedia

  • Danish constitutional and electoral age referendum, 1953 — Denmark This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Denmark …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”