A ballot in debate is the judge's written decision at the end of a round. It records which team won, individual speaker points for each debater, and usually a short Reason For Decision (RFD) explaining why the judge chose one side over the other. Ballots are one of the most important feedback tools debaters have.
What a Good Ballot Includes
- Win/loss result for each team
- Speaker points for each debater
- Reason For Decision - which arguments were most important and why
- Specific feedback on strengths and weaknesses
- Suggestions for improvement
How to Learn From Ballots
Good debaters collect their ballots after every round and review them. Patterns across multiple ballots are especially useful - if three different judges say your rebuttal is weak, that is a clear signal to work on rebuttal. If one judge says your speaking pace is too fast and another says it is fine, you can probably ignore the one-off feedback and focus on the consistent notes.