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87-580: Upon the organization's founding, in 2005, Kasparov stated that the UCF "will work to preserve electoral democracy in Russia." Kasparov concluded the press conference by stating that, "The primary goal of the systemic opposition is to dismantle the currently existing system and create a free political floor on which free elections can be held in 2007–2008. The bottom line is to preserve the Russians’ right to elect

174-437: A Condorcet method ; these methods are also gaining popularity for lesser elections in some countries where more important elections still use more traditional counting methods. While openness and accountability are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system, the act of casting a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an important exception. The secret ballot is a relatively modern development, but it

261-520: A constitutional court , the eforato , but the republic lasted only six months. Zack Snyder 's 2007 film adaptation of the Battle of Thermoplyae, 300 , depicts ephors as priestly class that exercise power by interpreting the words of the Oracle. In the film they are dramatized as elderly lepers with pale skin and lesions. At the beginning of the movie, Leonidas is shown visiting the ephors and proposing

348-572: A direct democracy , one type of non-partisan democracy , any eligible person can be nominated. Although elections were used in ancient Athens, in Rome, and in the selection of popes and Holy Roman emperors, the origins of elections in the contemporary world lie in the gradual emergence of representative government in Europe and North America beginning in the 17th century. In some systems no nominations take place at all, with voters free to choose any person at

435-461: A motion of no-confidence ). This calculation depends on a number of variables, such as its performance in opinion polls and the size of its majority. Rolling elections are elections in which all representatives in a body are elected, but these elections are spread over a period of time rather than all at once. Examples are the presidential primaries in the United States , Elections to

522-552: A different type of disputed contract. According to Pausanias, the ephors served with the Gerousia on the Supreme criminal court of Sparta. This included presiding over treason, homicide, and other offenses that carried serious punishments. These punishments included exile, death, and disfranchisement. Ephors had the authority to summon and preside over the assembly's regular meetings in the fifth century BCE. Initially this power

609-404: A first time offender failing to vote is a $ 20.00 fine, which increases to $ 50.00 if the offender refused to vote prior. Historically the size of eligible voters, the electorate, was small having the size of groups or communities of privileged men like aristocrats and men of a city ( citizens ). With the growth of the number of people with bourgeois citizen rights outside of cities, expanding

696-429: A mechanism for selecting rulers. On the other hand, elections began to be seen as a way for the masses to express popular consent repeatedly, resulting in the triumph of the electoral process until the present day. This conceptual misunderstanding of elections as open and egalitarian when they are not innately so may thus be a root cause of the problems in contemporary governance . Those in favor of this view argue that

783-408: A responsible government, both in presidential and parliamentary elections." The programme was accepted at the 3rd conference on February 25, 2006. it is founded on the four principles. Fair democratic elections Restoration of federalism Elimination of Nomenklatura system Government for people, but not people for government The UCF participated in the organisation of almost all

870-544: A return to sortition-based selection mechanisms. The extent to which sortition should be the dominant mode of selecting rulers or instead be hybridised with electoral representation remains a topic of debate. Ephors The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta . They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word " ephors " ( Ancient Greek ἔφοροι éphoroi , plural form of ἔφορος éphoros ) comes from

957-471: A tool for selecting representatives in modern representative democracies is in contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype , ancient Athens , where the elections were considered an oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled using sortition , also known as allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot. Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving

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1044-511: A treaty with Persia in 387 before becoming ephor in 370/69. The famous general Brasidas was elected in 431 just after his victory against Athens at Methone . One of the ephors was eponymous, i.e. he gave his name to the year, like the eponymous archon in Athens. He was probably designated during the elections as the candidate with the loudest shouts overall. The eponymous ephor did not have any additional power compared to his colleagues; it

1131-402: A variety of political, organizational, and corporate settings. Many countries hold elections to select people to serve in their governments, but other types of organizations hold elections as well. For example, many corporations hold elections among shareholders to select a board of directors , and these elections may be mandated by corporate law . In many places, an election to the government

1218-464: A war strategy to them. The ephors then consult the Oracle and refuse Leonidas' plan, showing that they have been bribed by Xerxes I . King Leonidas thus leads his 300 'bodyguards' to Thermoplyae without their approval. Rudolph Maté's 1962 film The 300 Spartans also depicts the ephorate's role in the Battle of Thermopylae . They are shown conflicting with King Leotychidas over the decision to delay

1305-474: Is a named ephor in the film. Ephors have appeared in Steven Pressfield's 1998 Gates of Fire , an historical fiction novel that recounts the Battle of Thermopylae. In Chapter 15, the ephors appear when a delegation of mothers and wives goes to the council, requesting they be allowed to join the battle. In Kieron Gillen 's graphic novel Three , ephors are referenced when Gillen describes

1392-549: Is a variety of schedules, for example, presidents: the President of Ireland is elected every seven years, the President of Russia and the President of Finland every six years, the President of France every five years, President of the United States every four years. Predetermined or fixed election dates have the advantage of fairness and predictability. They tend to greatly lengthen campaigns, and make dissolving

1479-408: Is an election that is held purely for show; that is, without any significant political choice or real impact on the results of the election. Sham elections are a common event in dictatorial regimes that feel the need to feign the appearance of public legitimacy . Published results usually show nearly 100% voter turnout and high support (typically at least 80%, and close to 100% in many cases) for

1566-460: Is common for political scientists to attempt to predict elections via political forecasting methods. The most expensive election campaign included US$ 7 billion spent on the 2012 United States presidential election and is followed by the US$ 5 billion spent on the 2014 Indian general election . The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must return to

1653-470: Is interference from the incumbent government. Dictators may use the powers of the executive (police, martial law, censorship, physical implementation of the election mechanism, etc.) to remain in power despite popular opinion in favour of removal. Members of a particular faction in a legislature may use the power of the majority or supermajority (passing criminal laws, and defining the electoral mechanisms including eligibility and district boundaries) to prevent

1740-411: Is now considered crucial in most free and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of intimidation. When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters for a campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently utilize campaign advertising . It

1827-463: Is principally known through the work of Aristotle, who describes in detail the elections of the gerontes (the members of the Gerousia), but not the ephors. It is still assumed that the election procedure was similar. Candidates passed one by one before the assembled citizens, who shouted according to their preference, while several assessors who were confined into a windowless building declared winners

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1914-529: Is the Ephorate of the Rascals, Rogues, and Rapscallions , an American fraternal research society. The Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture and Sports contains several regional ephorates that carry out the administration of archaeological investigations in their respective regions The Neapolitan Republic 's constitution of 1799, written by Francesco Mario Pagano , envisaged what would now be described as

2001-433: Is usually a competition among people who have already won a primary election within a political party . Elections within corporations and other organizations often use procedures and rules that are similar to those of governmental elections. The question of who may vote is a central issue in elections. The electorate does not generally include the entire population; for example, many countries prohibit those who are under

2088-572: The 1995 and 2002 presidential referendums in Saddam Hussein's Iraq . In Mexico , all of the presidential elections from 1929 to 1982 are considered to be sham elections, as the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and its predecessors governed the country in a de facto single-party system without serious opposition, and they won all of the presidential elections in that period with more than 70% of

2175-662: The 2014 Crimean status referendum , as well as the 2014 Donbass status referendums and the 2022 annexation referendum in Russian-occupied Ukraine ), the 2018 and 2024 Venezuelan presidential election , the 1928 , 1935 , 1942 , 1949 , 1951 and 1958 elections in Portugal, those in Indonesia during New Order regime, the 1991 and 2019 Kazakh presidential elections , those in North Korea ,

2262-749: The Dissenters Marches . One member of the Murmansk branch of the United Civil Front, Larisa Arap , is believed to be victim of psychiatric abuse. In 2010 UCF activists held pickets in Moscow to support the Internet campaign Putin must go . Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office . Elections have been

2349-570: The Ephors of Sparta in 754 BC, under the mixed government of the Spartan Constitution . Athenian democratic elections, where all citizens could hold public office, were not introduced for another 247 years, until the reforms of Cleisthenes . Under the earlier Solonian Constitution ( c.  574 BC ), all Athenian citizens were eligible to vote in the popular assemblies, on matters of law and policy, and as jurors, but only

2436-685: The Gerousia , held the majority of the power within the Spartan government, as the two kings had to consult either with the ephors or the Gerousia in almost any official matter. The ephors also held power over the Helots and the Perioeci . They controlled the Crypteia , the secret police who repressed the Helots , and they were even able to sentence Perioeci to death without a trial. The congress of

2523-531: The Krypteia and writes "Once a year, the masters declare war on the helots." The ephors were in charge of the Krypteia and declaring war on the helots in order to keep them terrified and controlled. The next scene depicts the ephor, Eurytos, being guided by his soldiers to a helot community where they demand hospitality. Eurytos is killed by a helot revolt and the only surviving soldier returns to Sparta to inform

2610-567: The Peloponnesian League was always chaired by an ephor. The ephors also had the authority to choose three hippagretai (Commanders of the Guard) every year from men over the age of thirty. The chosen hippagretes would then choose three hundred of the best hebontes to form a hippeis . The ephors also were responsible for penalizing disobedience in the military using fines. Ephors could also intervene in cases of "disturbing

2697-403: The crypteia , the ephors would pro forma declare war on the helot population so that any Spartan citizen could kill a helot without fear of blood guilt. This was done to keep the large helot population in check. Plutarch also stated that every eight years the ephors would watch the skies on a moonless night. If shooting stars occurred, it was up to the ephors to decide whether one or both of

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2784-491: The province of Achaea . The ephorate elections took place close to the Autumn equinox , because the term of the ephors matched the Spartan year, which started with the first full Moon after the equinox, therefore the end of September or October. There was probably an age requirement of at least 30 years old to be elected ephor, the age from which a Spartan citizen was no longer considered eromenos . The Spartan constitution

2871-485: The 18th century, some societies in Western Europe used sortition as a means to select rulers, a method which allowed regular citizens to exercise power, in keeping with understandings of democracy at the time. The idea of what constituted a legitimate government shifted in the 18th century to include consent , especially with the rise of the enlightenment . From this point onward, sortition fell out of favor as

2958-516: The Ancient Greek ἐπί epi , "on" or "over", and ὁράω horaō , "to see", i.e., "one who oversees" or "overseer". The ephors were a council of five Spartan men elected annually who swore an oath monthly on the behalf of the state. The Spartan kings, however, would swear on behalf of themselves. The ephors did not have to kneel before the Kings of Sparta, and were held in high esteem by

3045-664: The European Parliament (where, due to differing election laws in each member state, elections are held on different days of the same week) and, due to logistics, general elections in Lebanon and India . The voting procedure in the Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Republic are also a classical example. In rolling elections, voters have information about previous voters' choices. While in

3132-718: The Medieval period to select rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor (see imperial election ) and the pope (see papal election ). The Pala King Gopala (ruled c.  750s  – 770s CE) in early medieval Bengal was elected by a group of feudal chieftains. Such elections were quite common in contemporary societies of the region. In the Chola Empire , around 920 CE, in Uthiramerur (in present-day Tamil Nadu ), palm leaves were used for selecting

3219-556: The United States . At the same time the Kingdom of Great Britain had in 1780 about 214,000 eligible voters, 3% of the whole population. Naturalization can reshape the electorate of a country. A representative democracy requires a procedure to govern nomination for political office. In many cases, nomination for office is mediated through preselection processes in organized political parties. Non-partisan systems tend to be different from partisan systems as concerns nominations. In

3306-1053: The United States interfering between 1946 and 2000 in 81 elections and Russia or the Soviet Union in 36. In 2018 the most intense interventions, utilizing false information, were by China in Taiwan and by Russia in Latvia ; the next highest levels were in Bahrain, Qatar and Hungary. This can include falsifying voter instructions, violation of the secret ballot , ballot stuffing , tampering with voting machines, destruction of legitimately cast ballots, voter suppression , voter registration fraud, failure to validate voter residency, fraudulent tabulation of results, and use of physical force or verbal intimation at polling places. Other examples include persuading candidates not to run, such as through blackmailing, bribery, intimidation or physical violence. A sham election , or show election ,

3393-402: The age of majority from voting. All jurisdictions require a minimum age for voting. In Australia, Aboriginal people were not given the right to vote until 1962 (see 1967 referendum entry ) and in 2010 the federal government removed the rights of prisoners serving for three years or more to vote (a large proportion of whom were Aboriginal Australians). Suffrage is typically only for citizens of

3480-573: The balance of power in the body from shifting to a rival faction due to an election. Non-governmental entities can also interfere with elections, through physical force, verbal intimidation, or fraud, which can result in improper casting or counting of votes. Monitoring for and minimizing electoral fraud is also an ongoing task in countries with strong traditions of free and fair elections. Problems that prevent an election from being "free and fair" take various forms. The electorate may be poorly informed about issues or candidates due to lack of freedom of

3567-400: The battle until after the religious harvest festival of Carneia . The ephors decide to delay the battle but under the guise of having private bodyguards, King Leonidas marches into battle with 300 Spartans. The ephors are mentioned later in the film when Leonidas receives a letter from his wife informing him that the ephors have the remainder of the Spartan army will not be joining him. Xenathon

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3654-402: The boys' clothes daily to ensure that they fit. The ephors had their own syssitia , the common meal of Spartan citizens. Only 67 ephors are known by name before the end of the third century BCE, out of potentially 3000. The concept of an ephorate continues to be used by some contemporary organizations which require a monarchical element within a democratic framework. One such organization

3741-463: The citizens because of the importance of their powers and because of the holy role that they earned throughout their functions. Several other Greek city-states with a Spartan ancestry also had ephors, such as Taras or Cyrene . Two different accounts of the origins of the ephorate exist in ancient sources. The earliest account is found in the Histories of Herodotus , who traces its origins to

3828-414: The costs (barriers to entry) associated with raising one's political profile. Ultimately, the result is the election of candidates who are superior (whether in actuality or as perceived within a cultural context) and objectively unlike the voters they are supposed to represent. Evidence suggests that the concept of electing representatives was originally conceived to be different from democracy . Prior to

3915-469: The country, though further limits may be imposed. In the European Union, one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the municipality and is an EU citizen; the nationality of the country of residence is not required. In some countries, voting is required by law. Eligible voters may be subject to punitive measures such as a fine for not casting a vote. In Western Australia, the penalty for

4002-556: The creation of treaties with foreign powers and meeting with emissaries to discuss foreign politics. They held power within Sparta by also acting as the Presidents of the assembly and the justices of the supreme civil court as well as controlling army composition. The ephors needed a majority vote to make decisions binding and minority or dissenting decisions were not accepted by the assembly. According to Plutarch , every autumn at

4089-420: The elected delegates). Electoral systems are the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems that convert the vote into a political decision. The first step is for voters to cast the ballots , which may be simple single-choice ballots, but other types, such as multiple choice or ranked ballots may also be used. Then the votes are tallied, for which various vote counting systems may be used. and

4176-413: The election to prevent them from running. Ballots may contain only one "yes" option, or in the case of a simple "yes or no" question, security forces often persecute people who pick "no", thus encouraging them to pick the "yes" option. In other cases, those who vote receive stamps in their passport for doing so, while those who did not vote (and thus do not receive stamps) are persecuted as enemies of

4263-408: The ephors could directly penalize the hebontes by giving them large fines. The ephors paid close attention to the education of young Spartans, and played a significant role in ensuring the education was up to standard. According to Aelian , they would examine the naked bodies of the boys every ten days to ensure they were of proper complexion and fitness and not being overfed, as well as examining

4350-528: The ephorship allowed him to cement his role as king and prevent anyone from stopping his political reforms. However, the ephorate was restored by the Macedonian King Antigonus III Doson after the Battle of Sellasia in 222 BCE. Although Sparta fell under Roman rule in 146 BCE, the position existed into the 2nd century CE, when it was likely abolished by Roman Emperor Hadrian and superseded by imperial governance as part of

4437-516: The fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. Psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections (especially with a view to predicting future results). Election is the fact of electing, or being elected. To elect means "to select or make a decision", and so sometimes other forms of ballot such as referendums are referred to as elections, especially in the United States . Elections were used as early in history as ancient Greece and ancient Rome , and throughout

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4524-476: The first elections, there may be plenty of hopeful candidates, in the last rounds consensus on one winner is generally achieved. In today's context of rapid communication, candidates can put disproportionate resources into competing strongly in the first few stages, because those stages affect the reaction of latter stages. In many of the countries with weak rule of law , the most common reason why elections do not meet international standards of being "free and fair"

4611-417: The five candidates with the loudest shouts. As with the gerontes, this system of voice voting was considered "childish" by Aristotle, because influential men could easily manipulate the results by pressuring the jury. The kings played a prominent role during election campaigns by favouring their candidates, even though only one instance of such practice is known, when in 243/2 Lysander was elected ephor with

4698-491: The help of the king Agis IV . The fact that influential kings such as Cleomenes I or Agesilaus II had no reported conflict with the ephors support the view that they could decide who would be the ephors. Some ephors were elected thanks to a famous deed that made them known among voters. For example, Leon, ephor in 419/8, had won the quadriga race at the Olympic Games in 440, while his son Antalkidas had concluded

4785-793: The history of elections. Males, the dominant cultural group in North America and Europe, often dominated the electorate and continue to do so in many countries. Early elections in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States were dominated by landed or ruling class males. By 1920 all Western European and North American democracies had universal adult male suffrage (except Switzerland) and many countries began to consider women's suffrage . Despite legally mandated universal suffrage for adult males, political barriers were sometimes erected to prevent fair access to elections (see civil rights movement ). Elections are held in

4872-452: The kings had transgressed in his dealings with the gods. A transgression could include any behavior that dishonored the Greek pantheon . Unless the oracle from Delphi or Olympia stated otherwise, the ephors had the ability to depose the offending king or kings. Plutarch also stated that the ephors tried cases involving contracts among citizens. He further reported that each ephor specialized in

4959-467: The kings of Sparta were absent for long periods during the Messenian Wars . The ephors were elected by the popular assembly , and all citizens were eligible. The position of ephor was the only political office open to the whole damos (populace) of men between the ages of 30–60, so eligible Spartans highly sought after the position. They were forbidden to be re-elected and provided a balance for

5046-503: The legal power of an ephor was taken advantage of, such as with Alcibiades 's use of Endius , who persuaded the Spartans to allow Alcibiades to take control of Sparta's peace mission to Athens in 420 BCE. Cleomenes III abolished the position of ephor in 227 BCE, and replaced them with a position called the patronomos . Cleomenes's coup resulted in the death of four of the five ephors, along with ten other citizens. His abolition of

5133-525: The legislature (parliamentary system) more problematic if the date should happen to fall at a time when dissolution is inconvenient (e.g. when war breaks out). Other states (e.g., the United Kingdom ) only set maximum time in office, and the executive decides exactly when within that limit it will actually go to the polls. In practice, this means the government remains in power for close to its full term, and chooses an election date it calculates to be in its best interests (unless something special happens, such as

5220-406: The modern system of elections was never meant to give ordinary citizens the chance to exercise power - merely privileging their right to consent to those who rule. Therefore, the representatives that modern electoral systems select for are too disconnected, unresponsive, and elite-serving. To deal with this issue, various scholars have proposed alternative models of democracy, many of which include

5307-486: The mythical Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus —a version followed by Xenophon , Plato , or Isocrates . A diverging version first appears in the Politics , written in the middle of the 4th century BCE by Aristotle , who tells that the ephorate was created by the Spartan king Theopompos . This version is then more prevalent in subsequent authors, such as Cicero , and especially Plutarch . Modern scholars have identified

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5394-424: The peace." This included punishing underage Spartans indirectly for their offenses against Sparta. This form of retribution would include penalizing the boys' erastes (adult lovers). When men between the ages of twenty and thirty (known as hebontes ) committed offenses they were brought before the paidonomos , a magistrate charged with supervising the education of the youth in the agoge . Through this system

5481-428: The people . Sham elections can sometimes backfire against the party in power, especially if the regime believes they are popular enough to win without coercion, fraud or suppressing the opposition. The most famous example of this was the 1990 Myanmar general election , in which the government-sponsored National Unity Party suffered a landslide defeat by the opposition National League for Democracy and consequently,

5568-403: The predominance of elections in modern liberal democracies masks the fact that they are actually aristocratic selection mechanisms that deny each citizen an equal chance of holding public office. Such views were expressed as early as the time of Ancient Greece by Aristotle . According to French political scientist Bernard Manin, the inegalitarian nature of elections stems from four factors:

5655-452: The prescribed candidates or for the referendum choice that favours the political party in power. Dictatorial regimes can also organize sham elections with results simulating those that might be achieved in democratic countries. Sometimes, only one government-approved candidate is allowed to run in sham elections with no opposition candidates allowed, or opposition candidates are arrested on false charges (or even without any charges) before

5742-459: The press , lack of objectivity in the press due to state or corporate control, or lack of access to news and political media. Freedom of speech may be curtailed by the state, favouring certain viewpoints or state propaganda . Gerrymandering , exclusion of opposition candidates from eligibility for office, needlessly high restrictions on who may be a candidate, like ballot access rules, and manipulating thresholds for electoral success are some of

5829-446: The regime through suppression of the opposition, coercion of voters, vote rigging , reporting several votes received greater than the number of voters, outright lying, or some combination of these. In an extreme example, Charles D. B. King of Liberia was reported to have won by 234,000 votes in the 1927 general election , a "majority" that was over fifteen times larger than the number of eligible voters. Some scholars argue that

5916-535: The reign of Theopompos as ancient authors believed). However, Diogenes lived in the 3rd century AD, and even his sources dated from the Hellenistic era, long after the events. The ephors held numerous duties in legislative, judicial, financial, and executive matters. Following Lycurgus 's "Asteropus" in 620 BCE (increase in the power of the ephorate), the ephors became the ambassadors of Sparta. They handled all matters associated with foreign relations, including

6003-1092: The results were annulled. Examples of sham elections include: the presidential and parliamentary elections of the Islamic Republic of Iran , the 1929 and 1934 elections in Fascist Italy , the 1942 general election in Imperial Japan , those in Nazi Germany , East Germany , the 1940 elections of Stalinist "People's Parliaments" to legitimise the Soviet occupation of Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania , those in Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser , Anwar Sadat , Hosni Mubarak , and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi , those in Bangladesh under Sheikh Hasina , those in Russia under Vladimir Putin (including

6090-576: The source of the second version in a lost work written by the Agiad king Pausanias after he had been forced to abdicate and go into exile in 394 BCE. In this logos , Pausanias likely published Lycurgus' laws, including the Rhetra , which details the different element of the Spartan constitution ( kings , gerousia , ekklesia ), but does not mention the ephors. It has therefore been suggested that Pausanias

6177-532: The term citizen, the electorates grew to numbers beyond the thousands. Elections with an electorate in the hundred thousands appeared in the final decades of the Roman Republic , by extending voting rights to citizens outside of Rome with the Lex Julia of 90 BC , reaching an electorate of 910,000 and estimated voter turnout of maximum 10% in 70 BC, only again comparable in size to the first elections of

6264-524: The three highest classes of citizens could vote in elections. Nor were the lowest of the four classes of Athenian citizens (as defined by the extent of their wealth and property, rather than by birth) eligible to hold public office, through the reforms of Solon . The Spartan election of the Ephors, therefore, also predates the reforms of Solon in Athens by approximately 180 years. Questions of suffrage , especially suffrage for minority groups, have dominated

6351-431: The time of voting—with some possible exceptions such as through a minimum age requirement—in the jurisdiction. In such cases, it is not required (or even possible) that the members of the electorate be familiar with all of the eligible persons, though such systems may involve indirect elections at larger geographic levels to ensure that some first-hand familiarity among potential electees can exist at these levels (i.e., among

6438-441: The two kings, who rarely co-operated. Plato called the ephors tyrants , who ran Sparta as despots while the kings were little more than generals. Up to two ephors would accompany a king on extended military campaigns as a sign of control, and they held the authority to declare war during some periods in Spartan history. Since political and economic decisions were made by majority vote, Sparta's policy could change quickly, when

6525-466: The unequal treatment of candidates by voters, the distinction of candidates required by choice, the cognitive advantage conferred by salience, and the costs of disseminating information. These four factors result in the evaluation of candidates based on voters' partial standards of quality and social saliency (for example, skin colour and good looks). This leads to self-selection biases in candidate pools due to unobjective standards of treatment by voters and

6612-406: The usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature , sometimes in the executive and judiciary , and for regional and local government . This process is also used in many other private and business organisations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations . The global use of elections as

6699-501: The village committee members. The leaves, with candidate names written on them, were put inside a mud pot. To select the committee members, a young boy was asked to take out as many leaves as the number of positions available. This was known as the Kudavolai system. The first recorded popular elections of officials to public office, by majority vote, where all citizens were eligible both to vote and to hold public office, date back to

6786-435: The vote of one ephor changed. For example, in 403 BCE, Pausanias convinced three of the ephors to send an army to Attica , a complete reversal of the policy of Lysander. According to Aristotle, the ephors frequently came from poverty because any Spartan citizen could hold the position, and it was not exclusive to the upper-class. Aristotle stated that because of this they were often liable to corruption. There were times when

6873-456: The vote. The first seriously competitive presidential election in modern Mexican history was that of 1988 , in which for the first time the PRI candidate faced two strong opposition candidates, though it is believed that the government rigged the result. The first fair election was held in 1994 , though the opposition did not win until 2000 . A predetermined conclusion is permanently established by

6960-422: The voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. For that reason, most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals. In the United States, elections for public offices are typically held between every two and six years in most states and at the federal level, with exceptions for elected judicial positions that may have longer terms of office. There

7047-422: The voting system then determines the result on the basis of the tally. Most systems can be categorized as either proportional , majoritarian or mixed . Among the proportional systems, the most commonly used are party-list proportional representation (list PR) systems, among majoritarian are first-past-the-post electoral system (single winner plurality voting ) and different methods of majority voting (such as

7134-410: The ways the structure of an election can be changed to favour a specific faction or candidate. Scheduling frequent elections can also lead to voter fatigue . Those in power may arrest or assassinate candidates, suppress or even criminalize campaigning, close campaign headquarters, harass or beat campaign workers, or intimidate voters with violence. Foreign electoral intervention can also occur, with

7221-408: The widely used two-round system ). Mixed systems combine elements of both proportional and majoritarian methods, with some typically producing results closer to the former ( mixed-member proportional ) or the other (e.g. parallel voting ). Many countries have growing electoral reform movements, which advocate systems such as approval voting , single transferable vote , instant runoff voting or

7308-499: Was barren but he refused to divorce her so the ephors forced him to marry a second wife to provide heirs. Two ephors were always sent on military expeditions to ensure the king acted in line, and if not, could put the king on trial. Many kings were put on trial by the ephors, including Leotychidas , who was found to have accepted a bribe from the Thessalians during his military expedition to Thessaly . The ephors, along with

7395-456: Was hostile to the ephors, to whom he possibly attributed his banishment, and published the Rhetra to discredit their office. Although the contents of this logos and Pausanias' motivations remain disputed, most modern scholars think the ephors were created at the time of Theopompos, during the Messenian Wars . According to Plutarch, the ephorate was born out of the necessity for leaders while

7482-537: Was only a prestigious position. In 413/2, the ordinary ephor Endios is thus described by Thucydides as wielding a lot of influence within the college, even though the eponymous was Onomantios. As the eponymous ephors were used as dates, a list compiling their names existed in Sparta, and is mentioned by Polybius. This list was perhaps published by Apollodoros and Sosicrates , whose lost works were used by Diogenes Laertius . The list went at least as far as 556 (the year of Chilon's ephorate) and possibly up to 754 (during

7569-482: Was only assigned to kings in early years. However, with the passing of the Great Rhetra regular meetings became mandated. By the late sixth century BCE, the ephors had acquired this authority to oversee the assembly and could use this power against the kings of Sparta. For example, they used this authority to force King Anaxandridas II to change his conjugal arrangements to their advantage. King Anaxandridas' wife

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