Thanks. Actually, I was asking in terms of thread topic the Investigative Committee. That being said, I was curious to how many never even make it to a "vote" and why. But since you brought up the topic, when I had my IC I actually asked, what happens if someone get "black balled" and was told by the WM (who was part of my IC) that the WM would address the group and say "someone has voted unmasonically" and would possibly need a re-vote.
So far I have learned two rituals on the topic and followed the ballot process in a third.
In California we once voted on 3 candidates together (standard practice there). There was a cube. Maybe someone did not like balloting together. The ritual in California only allows the ballot to be re-done that evening and there is a specific provision that any multiple ballot on a first try be split into individual ballots on the second try. That evening we all went through the ballot process 4 times for 3 candidates. Reading twice to make sure I didn't mention the actual outcome, check.
One of the stated meetings during one of my years in the east in Illinois I was once handed a ballot box with the door jammed. I think one of the balls went underneath and kept it from sliding open. The force it took to open sprayed the balls and cubes from both chambers all over the place. I was very apologetic that we had to redo the ballot. Not a ritual situation but these things can happen when a new SD has never carried a ballot box before.
In Illinois when there are more than one candidates there are more than one boxes on the altar so there is never a need to convert from together to individual. Some candidates do run in parallel but they are not merged. The WM reports on all approved candidates. In Illinois if there is a dark ballot the WM has the option of an immediate re-ballot or doing the ballot again the next month. Once that rule was read in open stated meeting at a lodge in my district that I was visiting. Let's just say I recommend that any WM take the option of balloting again the next month if they are ever given that option.
Investigating - Once we were at the house of a petitioner. We asked his wife if she was okay with him becoming a Mason. It turned out her minister disapproved. He said they were going to switch to the church down the street (to me this was a natural response that I would do in that situation). She glared at him with dagger eyes. Suddenly all three of us felt the need to go out in their yard and admire their bushes and flowers. When they asked us back in he was apologetic that he had petitioned. We arranged to return his petition and check to him. I think technically we were supposed to make a negative report to the lodge but it worked for us to report the petition had been withdrawn.
Thinking if I recall negative recommendations by committees I was not on. Something I would deliberately want to blank out of my memory. Tabla rasa.