Origins of Greek Political Slang

Voters in Greece, tend to express their adoration or complete disapproval of parties or candidates with some really peculiar phrases. A  voter wanting to show strong discontent with a politician says, “Black to…” (followed by candidate’s name). But where did that phrase come from? Since 1844 and for about 80 years, Greek voters didn’t use ballot papers, but small bullets made of lead. For each candidate there were two ballot boxes, a white one for the positive votes and a black one for the negative votes. Those who voted for the candidate would throw a bullet in the white box and the voters who were against him would throw a bullet in the black box. The passionate voters who wanted to express their complete support to a candidate used to bite the bullet before throwing it in the white ballot box. This is what was called a “bitten vote.” The first ballot papers were used in the municipal elections of 1912.

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