Wakefield Museums and Castles

In 1872 Pontefract held a very special by-election. It was the first time an MP would be elected using the secret ballot voting method we still use today. Until then, votes had been cast in public.

People were worried about possible cheating during the election. There were strict rules about how to run the voting.

Candidates could have a representative in the polling station to make sure extra votes were not added to the boxes. The boxes were also held upside down before voting started to show that they were empty to begin with.

Once everyone was happy, the polling clerks in each polling station sealed their box with red wax. 

To make sure the wax couldn't be tampered with, they add a unique local twist. They marked the wax using a liquorice stamp from the Dunhill's factory.

The stamps were usually used for making the famous Pontefract Cakes.

The liquorice stamp mark meant no-one could break or replace the wax seal without officials noticing.