General election

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "General election" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article's lead section contains information that is not included elsewhere in the article. If the information is appropriate for the lead of the article, this information should also be included in the body of the article. (March 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the US and UK and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (March 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Part of the Politics series
Elections
Basic types By-election Corporate Direct / Indirect Fixed-term Free and fair General Local Mid-term Plurality Primary Partisan Nonpartisan Proportional Recall Retention Snap Sortition Two-round system Unfair
Terminology Anonymous elector Apportionment Audits Competition Boundary delimitation Crossover voting Electoral college Election law Election silence Gerrymandering Initiative Psephology Secret ballot Suffrage Right to stand for election
Subseries Administration Political party Voting Electoral systems
Lists Elections by country Close elections Most recent Next general elections National and local elections in 2025
Related Election security Electoral fraud Referendum (by country) Electoral reform Election science Paper candidate
Politics portal
v t e

A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time.^[1] They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections typically occur at regular intervals as mandated by a country's constitution or electoral laws, and may include elections for a legislature and sometimes other positions such as a directly elected president.^[1] In many jurisdictions, general elections can coincide with other electoral events such as local, regional, or supranational elections. ^[2]For example, on 25 May 2014, Belgian voters simultaneously elected their national parliament, 21 members of the European Parliament, and regional parliaments.

In the United States, "general election" has a slightly different, but related meaning: the ordinary electoral competition following the selection of candidates in the primary election.^{[citation needed]}