An election is a decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold

formal office. This is the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy fills
offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local
government. This process is also used in many other private and business organizations, from
clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.
The universal use of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern democracies is in
contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype, ancient Athens. Elections were considered
an oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled using sortition, also known as
allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot.
Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in
place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. Psephology is the study of
results and other statistics relating to elections (especially with a view to predicting future
results).

This article is part of the

Politics series

Elections
• Allotment (sortition)

• By-election

• Electoral fraud

• Show election

• Fixed-term election

• General election

• Primary election

• Indirect election

• Local election

• Referendum

• Criticisms of electoralism

Terminology

• Apportionment

• Crossover voting

• Gerrymandering

• Redistribution (redistricting)
 • Secret ballot

• Suffrage

Subseries

• Political party

• Voting

• Voting systems

Lists

• Elections by country

• Election results by country

• Electoral calendar

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Contents
[hide]
• 1 Ideology
• 2 Characteristics of elections
○ 2.1 Nomination
○ 2.2 Who is elected
○ 2.3 Types of elections
○ 2.4 Electoral systems
○ 2.5 Scheduling
• 3 Election campaigns
• 4 Difficulties with elections
• 5 Elections around the world
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 Bibliography
• 9 External links

[edit] Ideology
In Book II, Chapter 2 of his book 'The Spirit of Laws', Montesquieu states that in the case of
elections in either a republic or a democracy, voters alternate between being the rulers of the
country and being the subjects of the government. By the act of voting, the people operate in a
sovereign (or ruling) capacity, acting as "masters" to select their government's "come."
[edit] Characteristics of elections
Further information: Suffrage
The question of who may vote is a central issue in elections. The electorate does not generally
include the entire population; for example, many countries prohibit those judged mentally
incompetent from voting, and all jurisdictions require a minimum age for voting.
Historically, other groups of people have also been excluded from voting. For instance, the
democracy of ancient Athens did not allow women, foreigners, or slaves to vote, and the original
United States Constitution left the topic of suffrage to the states; usually only white male
property owners were able to vote. Much of the history of elections involves the effort to
promote suffrage for excluded groups. The women's suffrage movement gave women in many
countries the right to vote, and securing the right to vote freely was a major goal of the American
civil rights movement. Extending the right to vote to other groups which remain excluded in
some places (such as convicted felons, members of certain minorities, and the economically
disadvantaged) continues to be a significant goal of voting rights advocates.
Suffrage is typically only for citizens of the country. Further limits may be imposed: for example,
in Kuwait, only people who have been citizens since 1920 or their descendants are allowed to
vote, a condition that the majority of residents do not fulfill. However, in the European Union,
one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the municipality and is an EU citizen; the
nationality of the country of residence is not required.

Campaigners working on posters in Milan, Italy, 2004

In some countries, voting is required by law; if an eligible voter does not cast a vote, he or she
may be subject to punitive measures such as a small fine.
[edit] Nomination
A representative democracy requires a procedure to govern nomination for political office. In
many cases, nomination for office is mediated through preselection processes in organised
political parties.[1]
Non-partisan systems tend to differ from partisan systems as concerns nominations. In a direct
democracy, one type of non-partisan democracy, any eligible person can be nominated. In some
non-partisan representative systems no nominations (or campaigning, electioneering, etc.) take
place at all, with voters free to choose any person at the time of voting—with some possible
exceptions such as through a minimum age requirement—in the jurisdiction. In such cases, it is
not required (or even possible) that the members of the electorate be familiar with all of the
eligible persons, though such systems may involve indirect elections at larger geographic levels
to ensure that some first-hand familiarity among potential electees can exist at these levels (i.e.,
among the elected delegates).
As far as partisan systems, in some countries, only members of a particular political party can be
nominated. Or, an eligible person can be nominated through a petition; thus allowing him or her
to be listed on a ballot.
[edit] Who is elected

A pre-election hustings in the constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon in England.

The government positions for which elections are held vary depending on the locale. In a
representative democracy, such as the United States, some positions are not filled through
elections, especially those which are seen as requiring a certain competency or excellence. For
example, judges are usually appointed rather than elected to help protect their impartiality. There
are exceptions to this practice, however; some judges in the United States are elected, and in
ancient Athens military generals were elected.
In some cases, as for example, in soviet democracy—there may exist an intermediate tier of
electors between constituents and the elected figure. However, in most representative
democracies, this level of indirection usually is nothing more than a formality. For example, the
President of the United States is elected by the Electoral College, and in the Westminster System,
the Prime Minister is formally chosen by the head of state (and in reality by the legislature or by
their party).
[edit] Types of elections
In most democratic political systems, there are a range of different types of election,
corresponding to different layers of public governance or geographical jurisdiction. Some
common types of election are:
• Presidential election
• General election
• Primary election
• By-election
• Local election
• Co-option
A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) is a democratic tool related to elections in which
the electorate votes for or against a specific proposal, law or policy, rather than for a general
policy or a particular candidate or party. Referendums may be added to an election ballot or held
separately and may be either binding or consultative, usually depending on the constitution.
Referendums are usually called by governments via the legislature, however many democracies
allow citizens to petition for referendums directly, called initiatives.
Referendums are particularly prevalent and important in direct democracies, such as Switzerland.
The basic Swiss system, however, still works with representatives. In the most direct form of
democracy, anyone can vote about anything. This is closely related to referendums and may take
the form of consensus decision-making. Reminiscent of the ancient Greek system, anyone may
discuss a particular subject until a consensus is reached. The consensus requirement means that
discussions can go on for a very long time. The result will be that only those who are genuinely
interested will participate in the discussion and therefore the vote. In this system there need not
be an age limit because children will usually become bored. This system is however only feasible
when implemented on a very small scale.
[edit] Electoral systems
Electoral systems refer to the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems which
convert the vote into a determination of which individuals and political parties are elected to
positions of power.
The first step is to tally the votes, for which various different vote counting systems and ballot
types are used. Voting systems then determine the result on the basis of the tally. Most systems
can be categorized as either proportional or majoritarian. Among the former are party-list
proportional representation and additional member system. Among the latter are First Past the
Post (FPP) (relative majority) and absolute majority. Many countries have growing electoral
reform movements, which advocate systems such as approval voting, single transferable vote,
instant runoff voting or a Condorcet method; these methods are also gaining popularity for lesser
elections in some countries where more important elections still use more traditional counting
methods.
While openness and accountability are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system,
the act of casting a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an important exception.
The secret ballot is a relatively modern development, but it is now considered crucial in most
free and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of intimidation.
[edit] Scheduling
The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must
return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. For that
reason most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals. In
the United States, elections are held between every three and six years in most states, with
exceptions such as the U.S. House of Representatives, which stands for election every two years.
There is a variety of schedules, for example presidents: the President of Ireland is elected every
seven years, the President of Finland every six years, the President of France every five years,
the President of Russia and President of United States every four years.
Pre-determined or fixed election dates have the advantage of fairness and predictability.
However, they tend to greatly lengthen campaigns, and make dissolving the legislature
(parliamentary system) more problematic if the date should happen to fall at time when
dissolution is inconvenient (e.g. when war breaks out). Other states (e.g., the United Kingdom)
only set maximum time in office, and the executive decides exactly when within that limit it will
actually go to the polls. In practice, this means the government will remain in power for close to
its full term, and choose an election date which it calculates to be in its best interests (unless
something special happens, such as a motion of no-confidence). This calculation depends on a
number of variables, such as its performance in opinion polls and the size of its majority.
Elections are usually held on one day. There are also advance polls and absentee voting, which
have a more flexible schedule. In Europe, a substantial proportion of votes are cast in advance
voting.
[edit] Election campaigns
Main article: Political campaign
When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by
competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters for a
campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently utilize campaign
advertising. It is common for political scientists to attempt to predict elections via Political
Forecasting methods.
[edit] Difficulties with elections
Main article: Electoral fraud
In many countries with weak rule of law, the most common reason why elections do not meet
international standards of being "free and fair" is interference from the incumbent government.
Dictators may use the powers of the executive (police, martial law, censorship, physical
implementation of the election mechanism, etc.) to remain in power despite popular opinion in
favor of removal. Members of a particular faction in a legislature may use the power of the
majority or supermajority (passing criminal laws, defining the electoral mechanisms including
eligibility and district boundaries) to prevent the balance of power in the body from shifting to a
rival faction due to an election.
Non-governmental entities can also interfere with elections, through physical force, verbal
intimidation, or fraud which results in improper casting or counting of votes.
Monitoring for and minimizing electoral fraud is also an ongoing task in countries with strong
traditions of free and fair elections.
Problems which prevent an election from being "free and fair" can occur at several different
stages:
• Lack of open political debate or an informed electorate. The electorate may be poorly
informed about issues or candidates due to lack of freedom of the press, lack of
objectivity in the press due to state or corporate control, or lack of access to news and
political media. Freedom of speech may be curtailed by the state, favoring certain
viewpoints or state propaganda.
• Unfair rules. Gerrymandering, exclusion of opposition candidates from eligibility for
office, and manipulating thresholds for electoral success are among some of the ways that
the structure of an election can be changed to favor a specific faction or candidate.
• Interference with campaigns. Arresting or assassinating candidates for office, suppressing
campaign actions (speeches, posters, broadcast advertisements), closing campaign
 headquarters, criminalizing campaigning, harassing or beating campaign workers.
Intimidating voters with threats of or actual violence.
• Tampering with the election mechanism. Confusing or misleading voters about how to
vote, violation of the secret ballot, ballot stuffing, tampering with voting machines,
destruction of legitimately cast ballots, voter suppression, fraudulent tabulation of results,
and use of physical force or verbal intimation at polling places.
[edit] Elections around the world
Further information: Elections by country

[edit] See also

• Appointment
• Ballot access
• Demarchy — "Democracy without Elections"
• Electoral calendar
• Election law
• Election litter
• Full slate
• Fenno's Paradox
• Garrat Elections
• Gerontocracy
• Meritocracy
• Pluralism (political philosophy)
• Political science
• Polling station
• Slate
• Sortition
• Two-party system
• Voter turnout