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What is a ballot paper?
A ballot paper is the sheet voters use to mark their choice in an election. It lists all the candidates standing. In the Clacton by-election, the sheer number of candidates means the ballot paper is unusually long, nearly a metre, making it unique in British history.
Stories that explain this
Clacton by-election count will be much slower due to 34 candidatesRelated explainers
What is a by-election? Why so many candidates? How are votes counted? What is a ballot system? Why paper maps are back What is the Ballon d'Or?The full catalogue
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