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A general election is an election
Election

An election is a decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office. This is the usual mechanism by which modern Representative democracy fills offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional government and local government....
 in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-election
By-election

A by-election or bye-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly-scheduled elections....
s and local election
Local election

Local elections vary widely across jurisdictions. In electoral systems that roughly follow the Westminster model, a terminology has evolved with roles such as Mayor or to describe the executive of a city or town or region, and Reeve , Alderman or Councillor to describe the legislators who deliberate decisions....
s.

The term originates in the United Kingdom general elections
United Kingdom general elections

This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801-1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament is not included in the table below....
 for the House of Commons
British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the British monarchy and the House of Lords ....
.

i>General election is also a term used to differentiate from a primary election
Primary election

A primary election , also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election....
.






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Encyclopedia


A general election is an election
Election

An election is a decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office. This is the usual mechanism by which modern Representative democracy fills offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional government and local government....
 in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-election
By-election

A by-election or bye-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly-scheduled elections....
s and local election
Local election

Local elections vary widely across jurisdictions. In electoral systems that roughly follow the Westminster model, a terminology has evolved with roles such as Mayor or to describe the executive of a city or town or region, and Reeve , Alderman or Councillor to describe the legislators who deliberate decisions....
s.

The term originates in the United Kingdom general elections
United Kingdom general elections

This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801-1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament is not included in the table below....
 for the House of Commons
British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the British monarchy and the House of Lords ....
.

In the United States of America

General election is also a term used to differentiate from a primary election
Primary election

A primary election , also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election....
. In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, primary elections serve to narrow down a field of candidates, and general elections actually elect candidates to offices. The general election is usually held on Election Day
Election Day (United States)

Election Day in the United States is the day set by law for the election of public officials.For Federal government of the United States offices , it occurs on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in even-numbered years; the earliest possible date is November 2 and the latest November 8....
, Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.

It meets the above definition of "general election" because the entire United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
 is elected on Election Day, though not the entire United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
. Before passage of the 17th Amendment
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed the United States Senate on June 12, 1911, the United States House of Representatives on May 13, 1912 and the U.S....
, members of the United States Senate
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
 were not directly elected by the people but rather by their state's legislatures. Though Senators have been directly elected since then, only one-third of them are available for election on any given General Election Day. The U.S. President
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 is also chosen during a November General Election that follows primaries.

In the United Kingdom


General elections
United Kingdom general elections

This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801-1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament is not included in the table below....
 in Great Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 refer to the election of Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators....
 (MPs) to the House of Commons
British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the British monarchy and the House of Lords ....
; these must be held within 5 years and 1 month of the last one, but are often held before that time as it is up to the parties in government when to call a general election. The current Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)

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 Left-wing politics in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently organised again....
 government have held general elections every four years since coming to power in May 1997 and thereafter in June 2001 and May 2005. Therefore another election is not legally obliged to occur until June 2010.

General elections in Britain traditionally take place on a Thursday; the last general election not on a Thursday was that of 1931
United Kingdom general election, 1931

The UK general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast....
.

The five year limit on the time of a Parliament can be varied by an Act of Parliament. This was done during both World Wars; the Parliament elected in December 1910 was prolonged to November 1918, and that elected in November 1935 lasted until June 1945. The House of Lords
House of Lords

The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". The Parliament comprises the British monarchy, the British House of Commons , and the Lords....
 has an absolute veto on any Bill to extend the life of a Parliament.

Japan

See Elections in Japan
Elections in Japan

The Japanese political system has three types of elections: general elections to the House of Representatives of Japan held every four years , elections to the House of Councillors held every three years to choose one-half of its members, and local elections held every four years for offices in prefectures, cities, and villages....


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