Ballot

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Ballot examines the psychological, cultural, and political significance of voting in an increasingly anti-voting climate. Armed with her personal experiences as a poll worker, electoral organiser, and activist, Anjali Enjeti unspools a timely narrative about the precarious state of the ballot during one of the most tumultuous political eras in US history, and recounts the astonishing events leading up to the 2024 presidential election.

Enjeti lays out the growing challenges for voters in battleground states, where right-wing legislatures have introduced staggering numbers of voter suppression bills and redrawn district lines, all to disenfranchise as many Black and other marginalised voters as possible. As her account of the history and stakes of election integrity shows, the aftershocks of the Capitol insurrection on 6 January 2021 have manifested most egregiously on the four corners of the ballot.