An electoral college is a set of electors who are empowered to elect a candidate to a particular office. An election is a Decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Sortition, also known as allotment, is an equal-chance method of selection by some form of lottery such as drawing coloured pebbles from a bag A by-election or bye-election (called special election in the United States) is an Election held to fill a political office that has become vacant Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an Election. A show election or a sham election is an Election that is held purely for show that is without any significant political purpose A Fixed-term election is an Election that occurs on a set date and cannot be changed by the incumbent politician A general election is an Election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election A primary election ( nominating primary) also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a Jurisdiction select candidates Indirect election is a process in which voters in an Election do not actually choose between candidates for an office but rather elect persons who will then make the choice Local Elections vary widely across Jurisdictions In Electoral systems that roughly follow the Westminster model, a terminology has evolved A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita Apportionment is the process of allocating political power among a set of principles (or defined constituencies In multiple-party democratic primary elections crossover voting refers to a technique used by voters in which ballots are cast for the party a voter is opposed to in order to elect Gerrymandering is a form of redistribution in which electoral district or Constituency boundaries are manipulated for electoral advantage Redistricting, a form of redistribution, is the process of changing of political Borders in the United States The secret ballot is a voting method in which a Voter 's choices are confidential Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "voting tablet" and figuratively "right to vote" probably from suffrago "hough" and originally A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral A voting system allows voters to choose between options often in an Election where candidates are selected for public office. Elections by country gives information on Elections For each De jure and De facto sovereign state and dependent territory The list of election results by country gives information on Elections For each De jure and De facto sovereign state and An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an Organization with specific duties attached Often these electors represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way. An organization (or organisation &mdash see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals which controls its own performance and An entity is something that has a distinct separate Existence, though it need not be a material existence Many times, though, the electors are simply important persons whose wisdom, it is hoped, would provide a better choice than a larger body. Wisdom is a concept of personal gaining of Knowledge, Understanding, Experience, discretion and intuitive understanding, along with a capacity The system can ignore the wishes of a general membership, whose thinking need not be considered.

Origins of electoral colleges

Germanic law stated that the German king led only with the support of his nobles. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic Thus, Pelayo needed to be elected by his Visigothic nobles before becoming king of Asturias, and so did Pepin the Short by Frankish nobles in order to become the first Carolingian king. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The Principality of Asturias ( Spanish: Principado de Asturias, Asturian: Principáu d'Asturies or Asturies) is an Pepin or Pippin (714 &ndash 24 September 768) called the Short, and often known as Pepin the Younger or Pepin III, was While most other Germanic nations went to make a strictly hereditary system by the first millennium, the Holy Roman Empire could not, and the King of the Romans, who would become Holy Roman Emperor or at least Emperor-elect, was selected by the college of prince-electors from the late Middle Ages until 1806 (the last election actually took place in 1792). The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in The Prince-Electors (or simply Electors) of the Holy Roman Empire ( German: Kurfürst ( pl The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe European history in the period of the 14th and 15th centuries (AD 1300–1499 The election of a Holy Roman Emperor or King of Germany was from at least the 13th century, accomplished by a small body of the greatest princes of the Empire

Christianity also used electoral colleges in ancient times, until late antiquity (AD 300-600). Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Late Antiquity (c 300-600 is a Periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in Initially, the entire membership of a particular church, both the clergy and laity, elected the bishop or chief presbyter. Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given Religion. In religious organizations the laity comprises all persons who are not Clergy. A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations then a synonym of episkopos (which has now come to mean Bishop However, due to various reasons such as reducing the influence of the state or the laity in church matters, election power moved to the clergy alone and, in the case of the Western Church, then solely to a college of the canons of the cathedral church. A canon (from the Latin canonicus, itself derived from the Greek κανωνικος 'relating to a rule' is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the In the Pope's case, the system of people and clergy was eventually replaced by a college of the important clergy of Rome, which eventually evolved into the College of Cardinals. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and The College of Cardinals (verbose Sacred College of the Holy Roman Church, Sancta Romana Ecclesia, S Since 1059, it has had exclusive authority over papal elections.

Modern electoral colleges

The breakdown of votes in the U. S. Electoral College after redistricting based on the 2000 census.

Some nations with complex regional electorates elect a head of state by means of an electoral college rather than a direct popular election. The United States is the only current example of an indirectly elected executive president, with an electoral college made up of electors representing the 50 states and one federal district. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An executive president is a President who exercises active executive power in a certain systems of government. The Electoral College consists of 538 popularly elected representatives who formally select the President and Vice President of the United States. Each state has a number of electors equivalent to its total Congressional representation, with the non-state District of Columbia receiving three electors. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The electors generally cast their votes according to the winner of the popular vote in their respective states, but in many cases are not required by law to do so.

Similar systems are used or have been used in other presidential elections around the world. President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries. For example, the short-lived Confederate States of America (1861-1865) provided for election of its president in virtually the same manner as set forth in the U.S. Constitution. The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. The President of Finland was elected by an electoral college between 1919 and 1987. The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) In Germany and India, the members of the lower house of Parliament together with an equal number of members from the state parliaments elect the President of the Republic, while in Italy the presidential electoral college is composed of the members of both houses of Parliament and three members elected by each of the regional assemblies. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country

Another type of Electoral College is used by the British Labour Party to choose its leader. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The college consists of three equally weighted sections: the votes of Labour MPs and MEPs; the votes of affiliated trade unions and socialist societies; and the votes of individual members of Constituency Labour Parties. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. A Member of the European Parliament ( English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Union 's legislative body the European Parliament. In British politics, the term affiliated trade union refers to a Trade union that has an affiliation to the British Labour Party. A socialist society is a membership organization that is affiliated with the Labour Party in the UK. A Constituency Labour Party (CLP is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary Constituency in England ^[1]

During Brazil's military rule period, the president was elected by an electoral college constituting senators, deputies, state deputies, and lawmakers in the cities. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld

Nations with electoral college systems outside the United States include Burundi, Estonia,^[2] India,^[3] France (for the Senate), Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Nepal,^[4] Pakistan, and Trinidad and Tobago^[5]. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered Burundi (buˈɾundi officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ˈtrɪnɪdæd ən təˈbeɪgoʊ is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American

Ecclesiastical electoral colleges abound in modern times, especially among Protestant and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches. Ecclesiology (from Greek grc ἐκκλησίᾱ ekklēsiā, "congregation church" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See In the Eastern rite churches, all the bishops of an autocephalous church elect successor bishops, thus serving as an electoral college for all the episcopal sees. Autocephaly, in Hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches is the status of a hierarchical church whose An episcopal see is the ecclesiastical domain of authority of a Bishop.

See also

• College of Cardinals
• Constitution of the Roman Republic
• Electoral College (United States)
• Nominating committee
• Prince-elector

References

External links

• A Handbook of Electoral System Design from International IDEA
• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825