What do you think?
Rate this book
Ballot
Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.
Anjali Enjeti examines the psychological, cultural, and political significance of voting in the United States, tracing the history and evolution of ballots, from voice votes to single-party ballots, to punch cards, machines, and computers. She explores the reality of elections in a time where a significantly weakened Voting Rights Act, coupled with a right-leaning Supreme Court, have empowered Republican-led states in recent years to erect daunting barriers to voting through a deluge of anti-voting bills and racialized gerrymandering.
Armed with personal anecdotes as a poll worker, electoral organizer, and grassroots activist, Enjeti weaves a discussion of the history and stakes of ballot integrity within the dizzying and polarized climate of American politics today.
Anjali Enjeti examines the psychological, cultural, and political significance of voting in the United States, tracing the history and evolution of ballots, from voice votes to single-party ballots, to punch cards, machines, and computers. She explores the reality of elections in a time where a significantly weakened Voting Rights Act, coupled with a right-leaning Supreme Court, have empowered Republican-led states in recent years to erect daunting barriers to voting through a deluge of anti-voting bills and racialized gerrymandering.
Armed with personal anecdotes as a poll worker, electoral organizer, and grassroots activist, Enjeti weaves a discussion of the history and stakes of ballot integrity within the dizzying and polarized climate of American politics today.
256 pages, Paperback
Published February 5, 2026
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Anjali Enjeti
6 books82 followersAnjali Enjeti is a former attorney, organizer, and award-winning journalist based near Atlanta. Her collection of essays, Southbound: Essays on Identity, Inheritance, and Social Change, and her debut novel The Parted Earth will be published in the spring of 2021.
Her writing about politics, social justice, and books has appeared in Harper’s BAZAAR, ZORA, Courier Newsroom, Mic, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, The Nation, and elsewhere. Her work has received awards from the South Asian Journalists Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. A graduate of Duke University, Washington University School of Law, and the MFA program at Queens University in Charlotte, she teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Reinhardt University.
Since 2017, Anjali has been working to get out the vote in Georgia’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community. In 2019, she co-founded the Georgia chapter of They See Blue, an organization for South Asian Democrats. In the fall of 2020, she served on the Georgia Asian American and Pacific Islander Leadership Council for the Biden Harris campaign. A poll worker for Fulton County, she lives with her family outside of Atlanta.
Her writing about politics, social justice, and books has appeared in Harper’s BAZAAR, ZORA, Courier Newsroom, Mic, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, The Nation, and elsewhere. Her work has received awards from the South Asian Journalists Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. A graduate of Duke University, Washington University School of Law, and the MFA program at Queens University in Charlotte, she teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Reinhardt University.
Since 2017, Anjali has been working to get out the vote in Georgia’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community. In 2019, she co-founded the Georgia chapter of They See Blue, an organization for South Asian Democrats. In the fall of 2020, she served on the Georgia Asian American and Pacific Islander Leadership Council for the Biden Harris campaign. A poll worker for Fulton County, she lives with her family outside of Atlanta.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
One of the more charged and heavily footnoted entries in the Object Lessons series, Ballot offers a brief history of ballots, and then focuses on the contentious and increasingly restrictive struggle for voting rights in the United States. It is very focused on the contemporary moment, frequently pointing out the value and importance of elections, where today's local politician could be tomorrow's national candidate. Similar to Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny it is both critique and call to action.
Enjeti speaks both from extensive research and personal experience as one who has voted in many elections in several states and has also worked as a poll worker. The narrative focuses on the 21st century American shift to fascism and the recurrent difficulties in getting the populace to vote both from disinterest, loss of faith in the system or through the increasing barriers to casting a vote thanks to the weakening of the Voting Rights Act.
It is a stark picture, looking both at the local scale with redistricting and gerrymandering and the national with purging of voters, removal of financial restriction on donations or even the questioning of official results. Each of these is explored in different sections, noting some of the history of change. Each chapter takes a different theme on the ballot from the (relatively) straightforward way we have and do cast our votes, to psychological, political or cultural themes of how the system should work in the face of how it does. Right wing politicians in power are focused on disenfranchising Black and other marginalized voices to maintain their hold on power.
But not all is without hope, Enjeti also discusses methods and paths used in the past to cause change through activism, grass roots movements or ballot initiatives. Some sections of the book also offer reforms that would both encourage greater voter turnout and see results more in line with popular consensus.
Recommended to readers of contemporary American history or politics.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
Enjeti speaks both from extensive research and personal experience as one who has voted in many elections in several states and has also worked as a poll worker. The narrative focuses on the 21st century American shift to fascism and the recurrent difficulties in getting the populace to vote both from disinterest, loss of faith in the system or through the increasing barriers to casting a vote thanks to the weakening of the Voting Rights Act.
It is a stark picture, looking both at the local scale with redistricting and gerrymandering and the national with purging of voters, removal of financial restriction on donations or even the questioning of official results. Each of these is explored in different sections, noting some of the history of change. Each chapter takes a different theme on the ballot from the (relatively) straightforward way we have and do cast our votes, to psychological, political or cultural themes of how the system should work in the face of how it does. Right wing politicians in power are focused on disenfranchising Black and other marginalized voices to maintain their hold on power.
But not all is without hope, Enjeti also discusses methods and paths used in the past to cause change through activism, grass roots movements or ballot initiatives. Some sections of the book also offer reforms that would both encourage greater voter turnout and see results more in line with popular consensus.
Recommended to readers of contemporary American history or politics.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
February 19, 2026
On this day, in this terrible month in 2026, this passage from the conclusion really stands out to me:
"Now is the time for us to focus. To look for the gaps and fill them. To find a new path forward.
Remember, our elected officials work for us. Make your dissatisfaction with their performance known. Contact them regularly. Show up to their town halls for constituents. Organize meetings with them in person or online. Hold them accountable for their votes. Your ballot is your voice on Election Day. But use your voice to keep your elected officials’ feet to the fire all year long.
Here's something else to keep in mind. Social change movements emerge and flourish without regard to the ballot.
This may seem hard to believe in the heat of an election cycle. But even Congressman John Lewis, the indomitable statesman, knew this to be true:
'When government fails to meet the basic needs of humanity for food, shelter, clothing, and even more important—the room to grow and evolve—the people will begin to rely on one another, to pool their resources and rise above the artificial limitations of tradition or law.'"
The book reminds us that the vote matters so much...and so does the activism that keeps it vibrant and accessible, the ceaseless labor that protects voters and enfranchises more, and the accountability we hold our leaders to, because they must serve us, regardless of how we've cast our votes--and we can vote them out when they fail us, too.
Thank you for your book!
"Now is the time for us to focus. To look for the gaps and fill them. To find a new path forward.
Remember, our elected officials work for us. Make your dissatisfaction with their performance known. Contact them regularly. Show up to their town halls for constituents. Organize meetings with them in person or online. Hold them accountable for their votes. Your ballot is your voice on Election Day. But use your voice to keep your elected officials’ feet to the fire all year long.
Here's something else to keep in mind. Social change movements emerge and flourish without regard to the ballot.
This may seem hard to believe in the heat of an election cycle. But even Congressman John Lewis, the indomitable statesman, knew this to be true:
'When government fails to meet the basic needs of humanity for food, shelter, clothing, and even more important—the room to grow and evolve—the people will begin to rely on one another, to pool their resources and rise above the artificial limitations of tradition or law.'"
The book reminds us that the vote matters so much...and so does the activism that keeps it vibrant and accessible, the ceaseless labor that protects voters and enfranchises more, and the accountability we hold our leaders to, because they must serve us, regardless of how we've cast our votes--and we can vote them out when they fail us, too.
Thank you for your book!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
5/5 stars to this nonfiction piece.
The author is unbiased even through the lens of their own political beliefs when speaking on behalf of the wrong doings of each Political Party. They speak clearly and truthfully on the good, the bad, and the okay-Because sometimes the Government is not simply one or the other.
The author also mentioned Palestine and Israel MULTIPLE times-Thank you! The importance of Palestinian lives and the genocide currently taking place must be talked about as often as possible. I appreciate every single time it's mentioned, especially when the author is calling out a past (or the current) President/Vice President for his/her wrongdoings against Palestine. So important.
A multitude of current and past issues are mentioned within this short piece. Including but not limited to-Environmental crisis, the KKK, the gun agenda, racism, and illegal deportation. All things that American's need more education on.
I know that everyone who picks this book up will learn something important. I loved it. It says something crucial that the world NEEDS to hear. Well done!
Thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The author is unbiased even through the lens of their own political beliefs when speaking on behalf of the wrong doings of each Political Party. They speak clearly and truthfully on the good, the bad, and the okay-Because sometimes the Government is not simply one or the other.
The author also mentioned Palestine and Israel MULTIPLE times-Thank you! The importance of Palestinian lives and the genocide currently taking place must be talked about as often as possible. I appreciate every single time it's mentioned, especially when the author is calling out a past (or the current) President/Vice President for his/her wrongdoings against Palestine. So important.
A multitude of current and past issues are mentioned within this short piece. Including but not limited to-Environmental crisis, the KKK, the gun agenda, racism, and illegal deportation. All things that American's need more education on.
I know that everyone who picks this book up will learn something important. I loved it. It says something crucial that the world NEEDS to hear. Well done!
Thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A fairly short book about ballots in the object lesson series. This one is has more footnotes than the ones that I've read, so it appeared as longer than it was. The author talks at length about voting rights and suppression in a way that was easily understandable to a layperson who isn't particularly informed about these matters. It focuses most on modern day, detailing different issues like gerrymandering and line warming, things that I never gave much thought to. It also includes a little autobiographical information, but not that much, and the stuff that is there is woven in well.
The author does make their partisan point of view known, but calls out the failings of both parties, though focusing on the party that does more voter suppression. It ends in a call to action, which doesn't do much to the overall dreary mood of the book, but it's reasonable considering the current state of the subject matter. It hasn't quite made me more hopeful, but does at least illuminate the path in some issues that we can attempt to solve as a people.
ARC provided by Netgalley & Bloomsbury Academic
The author does make their partisan point of view known, but calls out the failings of both parties, though focusing on the party that does more voter suppression. It ends in a call to action, which doesn't do much to the overall dreary mood of the book, but it's reasonable considering the current state of the subject matter. It hasn't quite made me more hopeful, but does at least illuminate the path in some issues that we can attempt to solve as a people.
ARC provided by Netgalley & Bloomsbury Academic
February 17, 2026
This thoughtful and timely book from the Object Lessons series examines the meaning of the ballot—not just as a physical object, but as a symbol of identity, power, and democracy. Drawing on her own experiences as a poll worker and activist, Enjeti blends personal reflection with political and cultural analysis, exploring why voting matters and how access to it has become increasingly contested. One of the book’s strengths is its balance between history and lived experience. Enjeti traces the evolution of voting methods while also describing modern challenges such as voter suppression, gerrymandering, and political polarisation. Despite tackling serious and sometimes troubling issues, the book remains accessible and engaging. Personally I would have enjoyed more history about the ballot, which is only touched on briefly. The book is almost entirely American based and it would have been good to hear about these issues in other parts of the world.
December 13, 2025
This is a chronicle of the different ways that have been used in the past to keep people from voting and the ways that are currently in use to keep people from voting. While everyone technically has the right to vote certain politicians have and are trying to make it has difficult as humanly possible for certain populations to exercise that right:
This book is equally fascinating and infuriating. It should be infuriating. Everyone should not only have the right to vote, they should have the right to easily vote. More needs to be done to protect
This book is a call to action. Everyone needs to read this book.
This book is equally fascinating and infuriating. It should be infuriating. Everyone should not only have the right to vote, they should have the right to easily vote. More needs to be done to protect
This book is a call to action. Everyone needs to read this book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews