Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

down-ballot

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.05 in modern English

Syllables: down-bal-lot
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Pertaining to the election of a relatively minor officeholder.

Example Sentences

"Just as I stepped out of the shower, I got a call from a state senator who was planning to run for a down-ballot statewide office against the mayor of a suburban city."
"In 2012, Coleman again secured his reelection with more than 90 percent of the vote, and Democratic candidates in his district secured a greater share of the mean precinct down-ballot vote in 2012 than in 2000."
"In down-ballot races, television advertising is rare."
"One task of these developers at the party was to create tools for state parties and down-ballot candidates built from this data architecture."

Etymology

From the organization of most electoral ballots, which list electoral offices in descending order of the amount of power wielded by the officeholder.

Inflected Forms

more down-ballot (comparative) most down-ballot (superlative)

Questions

What does down-ballot mean?: Pertaining to the election of a relatively minor officeholder.
Where does down-ballot come from?: From the organization of most electoral ballots, which list electoral offices in descending order of the amount of power wielded by the officeholder.

How to pronounce down-ballot

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “down-ballot”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “down-ballot”.
Repeat and practice — Say “down-ballot” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.