We go through this protocol to elect a new candidate for membership.
From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, “The custom of using white and black balls seems to have been derived from the Romans, who in the earlier days of the Republic used white and black balls in the judicial trials; the balls were cast into an urn, the former acquitting and the latter condemning the accused.”
This idea of a white ball elects and a black cube rejects is a vote that the candidate doesn’t see but is given the results. If the result is all white balls, the candidate is then elected to membership. If there is but one cube, the candidate is rejected and may not have the privilege of becoming a Mason.
However, there is a second side to this voting process. I carry with me a white ball in my pocket wherever I go. This one white ball, so small in its physical appearance yet very mighty. It symbolizes the reason I am here today as a Mason. If not for the votes of my Brothers, I would not have been elected to membership. This little white ball reminds me every day that I am here because of my Brothers – for my Brothers. It shapes the way I speak, the way I act and what I do. Let this little white ball be a reminder to us all that it is because of this, we are all here today.
Fraternally,
Worshipful Bro. Peter