Polling station in the context of "Absentee ballot"

A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th century.

Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use printed ballots to protect the secrecy of the votes. The voter casts their ballot in a box at a polling station.

The Iowa caucuses are quadrennial electoral events for the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections, where registered voters cast ballots at polling places on election day, Iowa caucuses are meetings where voters gather to discuss and select candidates for their registered party. Political parties hold the caucuses, in contrast to most state-run primaries. Both presidential and midterm elections in Iowa use caucuses. The caucuses are also held to select delegates to county conventions and party committees, among other party activities.

The Iowa caucuses are noteworthy as the first major contest of the United States presidential primary season. Although caucus-goers have been unrepresentative of the nation's overall demographic, caucuses are still seen by some as a strong indicator of how a presidential candidate will do in later contests. Candidates who do poorly in the Iowa caucus frequently drop out in the following days.

An election official, election officer, election judge, election clerk or poll worker is an official responsible for the proper and orderly voting at polling stations. Depending on the country or jurisdiction, election officials may be identified as members of a political party or non-partisan. They are generally volunteers or paid a small stipend for their work. Each polling station is staffed with multiple officials. The duties include signing in registered voters, explaining voting procedure and use of voting equipment, providing ballots, and monitoring the conduct of the election.

Early voting, also called advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenience voting process by which voters in a public election can vote before a scheduled election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as via postal voting, or in person, usually in designated early voting polling stations. The availability and time periods for early voting vary among jurisdictions and types of election. The goals of early voting are usually to increase voter participation, relieve congestion at polling stations on election day, and avoid possible discrimination against people with work and travel schedules that may effectively prohibit them from getting to the polls during the hours provided in a single election day.

In some countries, early in-person voting or postal voting (or both) are available to all voters. In other countries, only some voters (such as those who are expected to be out of the country or hospitalized on election day) are eligible to cast ballots via these methods.