preliminary voting
nounUK /prɪˈlɪmɪnəri ˈvəʊtɪŋ/
US /prɪˈlɪmɪnɛri ˈvoʊtɪŋ/
A first vote to see what most people want before the real vote.
The class held a preliminary voting to pick their favorite game before the final vote.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. An early round of voting in a contest to narrow down choices.
The preliminary voting reduced ten singers to five finalists.
3. A vote used to gauge support before an official decision.
The committee used preliminary voting to see which plan had the most backers.
4. The first stage of voting in a multi-step election process.
Preliminary voting begins next week, and the final election is in June.