What are the rules governing the balloting process for candidates?

Balloting for candidates requires prior notice to the lodge, due inquiry into the candidate's character, and a vote held at a stated meeting 12. The vote is conducted with strict secrecy using a ballot box designed so that no observer can see whether a white ball or black cube is deposited 1. Members advance individually to the altar, present the proper salutation, deposit their ballot, and return to their seats 12.

Secrecy is absolute and unreviewable by any authority 3. Members are strictly forbidden from discussing the vote, disclosing how they voted, or inquiring into the votes of others 13.

Once voting concludes, the Senior Deacon carries the ballot box to the Junior Warden, the Senior Warden, and finally the Worshipful Master for inspection 12. If the box contains only white balls, the candidate is declared elected 12. If a single black ball or cube appears, a second ballot is typically ordered immediately to eliminate the possibility of a mistake 13. If the black ball reappears on the second vote, or if multiple black balls are cast on the first, the candidate is rejected 13.

While jurisdictions in the United States strictly enforce the rule of absolute unanimity 1, other constitutions allow for variations; the Grand Lodge of Scotland, for instance, historically required three black balls to exclude a candidate 1.

A candidate's rejection places him under the lodge's jurisdiction for a statutory period—commonly six months—during which he cannot reapply to that lodge, nor may he apply to another lodge without a waiver of jurisdiction 3.