Hi Cristin, The folks who replied are correct. It is a ballot box or voting box, but the way it is used is a little different. I am a member of a hundred year old volunteer fire company and we use such a box to vote on potential new members. White and black marbles are stored in the side of the box without the hinged lid. The box is passed around the room and each member chooses either a white marble- for admitting the new member or a black one- for rejecting the new member. They then take this marble and poke it through the hole and it falls into the side with the hinged lid. Thus it is a secret ballot because nobody can see any of the marbles in the lidded compartment side until all members have voted. When all have voted the president folds back the lid. If there is at least one black marble, the potential member is rejected. They have been "blackballed" Sincerely, David Ryan Registrar Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum www.cspm.org ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).