An election is a formal process through which eligible voters choose among candidates, parties or other alternatives for public office or, in some systems, for other representative positions. The process normally involves voter registration or eligibility rules, candidate nomination, campaigning, voting, counting and determination of the result according to a specified electoral system. Elections are central to representative government because they provide a mechanism for selecting officeholders and for periodically renewing or changing political representation. The precise structure differs across jurisdictions. Some elections select individual representatives from geographical constituencies, some allocate multiple seats proportionally, and others combine different methods. An election can therefore be understood as an institutional procedure rather than merely the act of casting a ballot.
Elections can occur at different governmental levels and for different offices. National elections may select members of a legislature or a head of state, regional elections may select members of devolved or state institutions, and local elections may select councillors or mayors. Elections can also be general, meaning that many seats are contested across a political system, or by elections, meaning that a particular vacancy is filled between general elections.
In the UK House of Commons, MPs are normally elected every five years, although by elections can take place at other times. Presidential systems may use separate elections for legislative and executive offices, while parliamentary systems commonly use legislative elections through which the composition of parliament is determined and governments subsequently form according to constitutional rules.
The electoral process begins before voting day. Candidates must satisfy eligibility and nomination requirements established by law. Political parties normally select or nominate candidates through their internal procedures, while independent candidates can stand without being candidates of registered political parties. The Electoral Commission explains that UK elections distinguish candidates nominated by political parties from independent candidates, with different rules concerning descriptions and party authorisation. Campaigning then allows candidates and parties to communicate their policies, records and arguments to voters, subject to applicable campaign finance and electoral laws. Voting itself may be conducted in person, by post, by proxy or through other legally authorised methods depending on the jurisdiction.
The ballot is translated into an electoral result according to the electoral system. Under First Past the Post, used for UK Parliamentary elections, each constituency elects one MP and the candidate receiving the most votes wins. Under proportional representation, seats are generally distributed so that the number of representatives won by a party or grouping more closely corresponds to its vote share. Single Transferable Vote and list proportional representation are examples of proportional systems, while mixed systems combine proportional and plurality or majority elements. Thus, the same votes can produce different seat distributions under different electoral rules.
Elections also perform accountability and legitimacy functions. Representatives know that they will ordinarily face voters again under systems involving regular elections, allowing voters to retain or replace officeholders according to the applicable rules. Elections also provide a mechanism for peaceful transfers of political authority. However, an election alone does not guarantee every characteristic associated with democratic government. The integrity of elections also depends on factors such as eligibility rules, freedom of political participation, ballot secrecy, accurate counting, fair administration, access to competing information and lawful campaign conditions. Election administration therefore includes much more than the mechanical counting of votes.
Elections should be distinguished from referendums, although both involve voting. In an election, voters generally choose representatives or officeholders. In a referendum, voters normally decide directly on a specific constitutional, legal or policy question. Primaries are also different because they are internal candidate selection processes in systems where parties or voters select which candidates will proceed to a later election. A by election is still an election, but it normally fills a particular vacancy rather than determining the composition of an entire legislature. These distinctions are important because the word election describes several institutional processes that have different purposes and legal consequences.
Elections can produce results that differ substantially from the national distribution of votes because electoral systems translate votes into seats using particular formulas. In First Past the Post, a party can win many constituencies with relatively small pluralities and receive a seat share that differs from its overall vote share. The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network identifies plurality and majority systems, proportional representation systems and mixed systems as major families of electoral arrangements, with district size, electoral formula and ballot structure being central components. The choice of electoral rules therefore influences party competition, representation, constituency relationships and the number of parties likely to obtain seats.
An election is consequently both a voting event and a larger institutional process. It connects citizens to representative institutions through rules determining who can stand, who can vote, how votes are cast, how votes are counted and how seats or offices are allocated. The legal framework establishes the procedures, while political parties, candidates, campaign organisations, electoral administrators, observers, media organisations and voters interact within that framework.
Elections can be routine or extraordinary, national or local, candidate based or party based, plurality based or proportional. Their common defining feature is the formal use of a regulated voting process to select representatives or officeholders, with the result determined according to rules established before the contest.
