On February 7, 1856, Tasmania enacted a groundbreaking law that established the right to vote by secret ballot, making it the first place in the world to do so. At the time, the colony was referred to as “Van Diemen’s Land”, having officially adopted the name Tasmania a month earlier. This significant reform was soon echoed in Victoria, which introduced a similar law in March, followed by South Australia in April of that same year. The concept of the secret ballot gained further recognition when it was introduced in the United States during the 1880s, where it became known as the “Australian ballot”. Today, the ability to vote secretly is widely regarded as a fundamental democratic right, yet it was Tasmania that pioneered this essential practice in voting history.
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