Learning module:
Progressive ideas and movements Defining Moments, 1750–1918
Investigation 5: Chartism
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5.3 1856 Secret ballot
State Library of Victoria
Part of a democratic system is the ability of people to cast a vote without other people knowing who that vote was for. Without the protection of secrecy it would be possible for someone, for example an employer, to penalise or intimidate a person if that person voted against the employer or that employer’s interests.
Read the information about the achievement of the first secret ballot in the Defining Moment in Australian history: 1856 Secret ballot introduced and adult men given the vote. Use that information to answer these questions.
Look back at the Key Questions. Which of these questions do you think you can now answer fully? Which need more research?
