ETYM French élection, Latin electio, from eligere to choose out. Related to Elect.
Process of appointing a person to public office or a political party to government by voting. Elections were occasionally held in ancient Greek democracies; Roman tribunes were regularly elected.
Among all the sovereign contemporary states, only five— Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates —do not have, and never have had, any political institutions that can, even in the loosest sense, be described as popularly representative. In other countries citizens have the right to vote for a government, but they do not necessarily have a free or wide choice.
The qualifications for voting in elections were liberalized during the 20th century. New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote, in 1893, and, among economically advanced states, Switzerland was the last, in 1971. The minimum age for voting was almost universally lowered to 18, and some countries adopted an even lower age; the age qualification in Iran for presidential elections is 15. In the 1980s began a worldwide movement away from one-party politics, where elections are limited to endorsing the party in power, to multiparty systems, where there is more choice. Instead, access to media and funds for political campaigning have become more and more decisive.
1. A vote to select the winner of a political office.
2. The act of selecting someone. + prikaži više

(Homonym: Pole, pole).
1. An inquiry into public opinion conducted by interviewing a random sample of people; SYN. public opinion poll, canvass.
2. The counting of votes (as in an election).
3. The part of the head between the ears.
4. A tame parrot; SYN. poll parrot.
5. Head, especially top or back part of head of animal; striking face of hammer. + prikaži više

ETYM Latin votum a vow, wish, will, from vovere, votum, to vow: cf. French vote. Related to Vow.
1. A body of voters who have the same interests.
2. A choice that is made by voting; SYN. ballot, voting, balloting.
3. The opinion of a group as determined by voting.
4. The total number of votes cast; SYN. voter turnout.
Expression of opinion by ballot, show of hands, or other means. For direct vote, see plebiscite and referendum. In parliamentary elections the results can be calculated in a number of ways.
In the us the voting age is 18. Conditions of residence vary from state to state and registration is required before election day. Until declared illegal 1965, literacy tests or a poll tax were often used to prevent black people from voting in the South. Voter registration and turnout in the us remains the lowest in the industrialized world. In 1988, 37% of potential voters failed to register and barely 50% voted in the presidential election, so that George Bush became president with the support of only 27% of the people. Voter registration increased in 1992, and record numbers of voters went to the polls. + prikaži više