- A primary election refers to a nominating election in which voters choose from candidates who wish to run in a general election. Voters in a political party's primary choose the party's nominee for the general election. Some states allow only those with party registration to vote in the party's primary; other states with "open" primaries allow the voter on election day to decide in which party primary to vote.
- A general election refers to a vote that determines which candidate from a ballot that may include a broad range of political parties and independents gains political office at the federal, state or local level. Citizens of any party or with no declared party can vote for the candidates they support, and the candidate with the most votes wins the office. General election ballots also typically include measures like referendums and bond issues.
- A presidential election refers to a specific type of general election that occurs every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. Primary elections and caucuses -- meetings at local levels meant to express support for a candidate within a political party -- determine the candidates running for president. Registered voters across the nation vote for their candidates of choice on Election Day. States generally award all presidential electoral votes to a candidate based on popular vote across the state, and the candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes -- 270 of 538, as of 2011 -- wins the presidency.
- Midterm elections refer to general elections in which voters elect representatives to Congress, state officials or local officials and that occur halfway between one presidential election and another. Voters elect members of the U.S. House of Representatives to two-year terms and members of the U.S. Senate to six-year terms.
- "Off-year" elections refer to elections taking place in odd years. Presidential elections and mid-term elections occur in evenly numbered years -- 2008, 2010, 2012. Off-year elections take place during odd years, like 2009 or 2011. Off-year elections, either primary or general, typically occur only at state and local levels.
- A government can call for a special election at any time as need dictates. Special elections occur most often for the purpose of voting on public measures or to fill vacant offices. If a local or state official dies or otherwise becomes incapable of maintaining office, that official's position may get filled through special election. Special elections fill all vacancies in the U.S. House of Representatives. Special elections or gubernatorial appointments fill vacancies in the U.S. Senate. If local or state measures require a vote from the general population, these measures occasionally go to vote at a special election.
previous post