Cum omnes tabellas in urnam miserint, praeco numerum suffragiorum clare referet.

When everyone has put the ballots into the urn, the herald will report the number of votes clearly.

Breakdown of Cum omnes tabellas in urnam miserint, praeco numerum suffragiorum clare referet.

• in: into
• numerus: the number
• cum: when
• clare: clearly

Questions & Answers about Cum omnes tabellas in urnam miserint, praeco numerum suffragiorum clare referet.

What does cum mean here?

Here cum means when.

It introduces a subordinate clause:

• Cum omnes tabellas in urnam miserint = When all the ballots have been put into the urn

This is not the preposition cum meaning with. You can tell because it is followed by a whole clause with a verb (miserint), not by a noun in the ablative.

Why is miserint in the subjunctive?

Because after cum meaning when, Latin often uses the subjunctive when the clause is viewed as a future event or as something completed before the main future action.

So:

• miserint = perfect subjunctive
• referet = future indicative

Together they give the sense:

• when they have cast the ballots, the herald will announce the number of votes

This is a very common Latin pattern for a future time clause.

Why is miserint perfect, even though the sentence is about the future?

The perfect tense here does not mean past time in English. It shows that the action in the cum clause will be completed before the main action happens.

So Latin is expressing sequence:

1. the ballots are cast
2. then the herald announces the total

That is why English often translates it with :