ELECTIONS
The processes of voting to decide a public question or to select one person from a designated group to perform certain obligations in a government, cor-
poration, or society.
Elections are commonly understood as the
processes of voting for public office or public
policy, but they also are used to choose leaders
and to settle policy questions in private organi-
zations, such as corporations, LABOR UNIONS,
and religious groups. They also take place within
specific government bodies. For example, the
U.S. House of Representatives and state legisla-
tures elect their own leaders.
In elections, a candidate is a person who is
selected by others as a contestant. A ballot is
anything that a voter uses to express his or her
choice, such as a paper and pen or a lever on a
machine. A poll is the place where a voter casts
his or her ballot.
For government policy and leadership, a
general election is commonly understood as a
process of voting that regularly occurs at speci-
fied intervals. For national elections, Congress
has designated the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November as election day. A special
election is held under special circumstances. For
example, if an elected official dies or resigns
from office during her or his term, a special elec-
tion may be held before the next scheduled gen-
eral election for the office.
The free election of government leaders is a
relatively recent practice. Until the eighteenth
century, leaders gained political power through
insurrection and birthright. Political thought
changed dramatically in eighteenth-century
Europe, where industrial progress inspired the
reconsideration of individual rights and govern-
ment. The notion that government leaders
should be chosen by the governed was an
important product of that movement.
The United States held its first presidential
election on February 4, 1789. In that election,
GEORGE WASHINGTON was chosen U.S. presi-
dent by a small, unanimous vote of electors.
Since its infancy, the United States has held elec-
tions to decide who will assume public offices,
such as the offices of the president and vice pres-
ident, U.S. senators and representatives, and
state and local legislators. Individual states have
also held elections for a wide range of other gov-
ernment officials, such as judges, attorneys gen-
eral, district attorneys, public school officials,
and police chiefs.
Elections for public offices are governed by
federal and state laws. Article I of the U.S. Con-
stitution requires that a congressional election
be held every two years and that senators be
elected every six years. Article II provides that a
president and a vice president shall be elected
for a four-year term. In 1951, the states ratified
Amendment 22, which provides that no person
may serve as president more than twice.
For the federal oversight of national elec-
tions for public office, Congress created the FED-
ERAL ELECTION COMMISSION (FEC) with 1974
amendments to the Federal Election Campaign
Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.A. §§ 431 et seq.). The FEC
provides for the public financing of presidential
elections. It also tracks and reveals the amounts
and sources of money used by candidates for
national office and their POLITICAL ACTION
COMMITTEES (PACs). The FEC enforces the lim-
its on financial contributions to, and expendi-
tures of, those candidates and committees. To
receive FEC funding, PACs must register with
the FEC.
States regulate many aspects of government
elections, including eligibility requirements for
candidates, eligibility requirements for voters,
and the date on which state and local elections
are held. U.S. citizens have the right to form and
operate political parties, but the state legislature
may regulate that right. For example, a candi-
date may not be placed on an election ballot
unless he or she has registered with the state
election board. Many states maintain stringent
requirements for would-be candidates, such as
sponsorship by a certain number of voters on a
petition. A monetary deposit also might be
required. Such a deposit may be forfeited if the
candidate fails to garner a certain proportion of
the vote in the election.
Some states have sought to place limitations
on contributions received by individual politi-
cal candidates. In Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Gov-
ernment PAC, 528 U.S. 327, 120 S. Ct. 897, 145
