Ballot laws of the Roman Republic
The ballot laws of the Roman Republic were four laws which introduced the secret ballot to all popular assemblies in the Republic. They were all introduced by tribunes, and consisted of the lex Gabinia tabellaria of 139 BC, applying to the election of magistrates; the lex Cassia tabellaria of 137 BC, applying to juries except in cases of treason; the lex Papiria of 131 BC, applying to the passing of laws; and the lex Caelia of 107 BC, which expanded the lex Cassia to include matters of treason. Prior to the ballot laws, voters announced their votes orally to a teller, essentially making every vote public. The ballot laws curtailed the influence of the aristocratic class and expanded the freedom of choice for voters. Elections became more competitive. In short, the secret ballot made bribery more difficult.
Background
Political context
From the founding of the Roman Republic in 509 BC to the mid second century BC, Rome had expanded from a small city state to a world power. After decisively winning the Macedonian Wars, destroying Carthage in 146 BC, and destroying Corinth in the same year, Rome became the hegemonic power of the Mediterranean. Aside from controlling the Italian Peninsula, it had gained provinces in Iberia, Greece, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and North Africa, in addition to its many client states and allies.During this 400 year expansion, Roman politics was largely peaceful, with no civil wars and no recorded political murders. However, the conquest of an empire would cause significant political and social changes. With an empire, political office offered more opportunities for wealth and personal advancement, increasing the stakes of elections. The Italian land conquered by Rome—technically ager publicus, or public land—in practice fell into the hands of rich aristocrats, leading to the rise of large estates called latifundia. These large estates were worked by slaves from conquered territories, who flooded into Italy in the hundreds of thousands. Due to economies of scale, the use of slave labor, and the appropriation of previously public land, many small farmers found it impossible to compete with the latifundia and were forced to sell their farms. The dispossession of these farmers, many of whom moved to Rome and became part of the landless poor, caused profound social tension and political upheaval.
The 130s and 120s BC were a turning point for Roman politics. The ballot laws were introduced at a time of rising popular sentiment that saw the rise of populares politicians, who gained power by appealing to the lower classes. Most notably, these included Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BC and Gaius Gracchus a decade later. The resulting conflict between populares and optimates would lead to the dissolution of political norms and the rise of political violence. Within decades, mob violence, political assassination, and even civil war would become routine. These conflicts would cause the end of the republic in 27 BC. This extended period of unrest is termed the crisis of the Roman Republic.
Roman constitution
The constitution of the Roman Republic consisted of a complex mix of elected officials, popular assemblies, and the Senate. The assemblies elected all magistrates, in addition to passing legislation and having some judicial functions. The magistrates had a wide range of duties, including leading armies, presiding over assemblies, judging cases, managing state finances, and managing public works. The Senate was the only deliberative body of the republic, and was composed of ex-magistrates appointed by a magistrate known as the censor. It nominally had largely advisory powers, but in practice its advice was almost always taken, and it was the predominant body in charge of foreign policy and the treasury.The Republic had three popular assemblies: the Centuriate Assembly, Tribal Assembly, and Plebeian Council. The first elected the higher magistrates, including the two consuls, who held extensive powers over all Roman citizens and were commanders-in-chief of the army. The Tribal Assembly elected the lower magistrates: the quaestors, who managed state finances, and the curule aediles, responsible for public works. The Plebeian Council elected the plebeian tribunes and the plebeian aediles. The tribunes presided over the Plebeian Council, proposed legislation, and could veto the actions of all other magistrates. The plebeian aediles had a similar role to the curule aediles.
The Centuriate Assembly consisted of 193 groupings called centuries, each of which had one vote. The vote of a century was determined by the votes of the members of that century who were present to vote. Membership in a century was determined by a citizen's wealth, geographic location, and age. The centuries were heavily weighted in favor of the wealthy, so that the equites and first class, despite comprising a small portion of the population, were only 8 votes short of a majority of the centuries. Similarly, the landless proletarii, which might have made up 14% of the population, were allocated one century. The centuries voted by class, so that the wealthiest centuries voted first, followed by the less wealthy centuries, and so on. When a majority was reached, voting stopped. The poorer centuries, therefore, rarely had a chance to vote.
The Tribal Assembly was composed of groupings called tribes, where membership in a tribe was determined by geographic location and not, as the name implies, by ancestry. Each tribe had one vote, and the vote of a tribe was determined by the votes of the members. Unlike in the Centuriate Assembly, there is no property requirement. The Plebeian Assembly was similar to the Tribal Assembly, except that only plebeians were permitted, and it was presided by a plebeian tribune. The Plebeian Assembly eventually became the main legislative body of the republic.
In addition to their roles in electing magistrates and passing legislation, the Tribal and Plebeian assemblies could try judicial cases. The Centuriate Assembly also served as the court of highest appeal, especially for capital cases.
In summary, Rome had a mixed constitution, with monarchic, oligarchic, and democratic elements represented by the senior magistrates, the Senate, and the assemblies respectively. The ancient Greek writer Polybius wrote that at the time of the Second Punic War, the aristocratic element was dominant in Rome. Even so, the people of Rome held important practical and theoretical standing in the Roman state. Only the people, as represented by the assemblies, could elect magistrates, declare war, or try capital cases. In the second century BC, the assemblies would pass important laws on a wide range of issues, including citizenship, finance, social matters, religion, and war and peace. Voting by the Roman people, therefore, was critical to the functioning of the Republic. It was necessary not only for elections, but also for legislative and judicial reasons.
Voting before the ballot laws
Before the ballot laws were introduced, votes were conducted by voice. Voters in a certain century or tribe would gather together in a venue and express their preference, one by one, to a teller. The teller would tabulate the votes and announce the result to the presiding official. Votes were therefore impossible to keep secret.Although there are few recorded instances of direct voter intimidation, a variety of social pressures reduced voter freedom. For example, both centuries and tribes were based on geographic location, so voters voted with the people most likely to know them. The rogator himself was a man of distinction, such as a Senator. Voters might be reluctant to offend their family, their landlords, or their military commanders. More significantly, Rome had a strong system of patronage. In this system, a wealthy patron would support his less wealthy client with food, money, business advice, and legal assistance. In exchange, the client would grant the patron favours in his personal and public life. One of the most significant was political support, which included campaigning for the patron and voting for him in elections.
Another major source of influence was largess, also called ambitus. In an attempt to buy votes, candidates would hold lavish banquets and games, or even directly bribe voters with wine, oil, or money. For example, Titus Annius Milo, when canvassing for the consulate in 53 BC, promised each voter in the tribes 1000 asses. In the course of the second century BC, a long series of laws were passed to crack down on ambitus. This included the lex Orchia of 182 BC, which restricted the amount one could spend on banquets, and the lex Baebia one year later, aimed at directly combating ambitus. Despite Plutarch's claim that the giving of gifts in exchange for votes was punishable by death, these laws appeared to have little effect.
Ballot laws
The ballot laws were not the first election laws to be passed. Due to the apparent ineffectiveness of the anti-corruption lex Baebia of 181 BC, the Cornelian-Fulvian law of 159 BC was passed, again targeting corruption. Extending the sumptuary law of 182 BC, the lex Didia of 143 BC restricted spending on banquets in all of Italy. In 145 BC, a bill by the tribune Lucius Licinius Crassus proposed that priesthoods be elected instead of co-opted. While advocating for his proposal, he pointedly turned his back on the senators in the comitium and spoke directly to the people in the Roman Forum.File:Roman coin commemorating the secret ballot law of 137 BC.jpg|right|thumb|Obverse: the head of Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty. On the lower left is a ballot urn. Reverse: A personification of Libertas in a chariot, holding the cap and staff of freedom. This coin was struck by C Cassius around 126 BC and commemorates the Lex Cassia tabellaria of 137 BC, which mandated the use of the secret ballot for all trials in the popular assemblies with the exception of treason cases.
The only detailed ancient account of the ballot laws is Cicero's De Legibus. Written in the last years of the Republic, De legibus is a fictional dialogue between Cicero, his brother Quintus, and their mutual friend Atticus. In the dialogue, the three discuss their conception of the ideal Roman constitution. In Book III 33–9, Cicero summarizes the passage of the ballot laws; the three subsequently criticize the laws and propose repeal or alteration. Cicero, an opponent of the laws, portrays the sponsors of the ballot laws as demagogues currying favor with the masses.
The ballot laws were highly controversial and strongly opposed by the optimates. Pliny remarks: