Max Valentin (Curator, FABEL) - "In this exhibition of ballot papers spanning more than 100 years with a focus on five countries, we can see how ballots mirror and change with historical context, societal demands, and geopolitical influences: the influence and spread of the party focussed French ballot system in the earlier part of the 20th century, and the rise in popularity of the single, government-issued, Australian ballot over time." ;xNLx;;xNLx;Therese Pearce-Laanela (Senior Programme Manager, International IDEA) - "The design of a ballot paper is important to election administrators as a key tool to understand the voter’s intentions and political choices: a good design presents clear and understandable options to voter and reduces the chances of voter error. But beyond this utilitarian function, the ballot carries a powerful symbolic value of the compact between the citizen and the state, or, more simply put: ‘my vote matters’. This exhibition presents a range of ballots that illustrate these design choices and historical significance – from the 2000 Florida Gore – Bush ‘hanging chad’ ballot, to the South African 1994 first post-apartheid ballot." ;xNLx;;xNLx;This timeline has been made available through close cooperation between Studio Kalleinen (FI), IESC (LT), Folkevirket (DK), Fabel (SE) and International IDEA with financial support by Nordic Culture Fund