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Writ of election

 

 
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Writ of election
 
 
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A writ of election is a writ
Writ

In law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction. In modern usage, this public body is generally a court....
 issued by the government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
 ordering the holding of a special 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....
 for a governmental office
Office

An office is generally a room or other area in which people employment, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty....
.

In the United Kingdom
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....
 and in Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, this is the only way of holding an election for the House of Commons
House of Commons

The House of Commons is the name of the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada.In the UK and Canada, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the upper house of parliament ....
. When the government wants to or is required to dissolve parliament, a writ of election is issued for each constituency
United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly....
 (in the UK) or electoral district
Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a Riding in Canadian English political jargon, is a geographically-based constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based....
 (in Canada).

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...
, this writ is issued mainly by state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 governor
Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the Executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, a governor may be the title of each appointed or elected politician who governs a constitutive state....
s for filling vacancies in the 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....
, 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....
, or the states' own legislatures.

In Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, the writs are issued by the Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the Monarchy of Australia . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth....
 for the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house, the upper house being the Australian Senate....
 and by the respective state Governors for the Senate
Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. The lower house is known as the Australian House of Representatives....
.






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A writ of election is a writ
Writ

In law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction. In modern usage, this public body is generally a court....
 issued by the government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
 ordering the holding of a special 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....
 for a governmental office
Office

An office is generally a room or other area in which people employment, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty....
.

In the United Kingdom
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....
 and in Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, this is the only way of holding an election for the House of Commons
House of Commons

The House of Commons is the name of the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada.In the UK and Canada, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the upper house of parliament ....
. When the government wants to or is required to dissolve parliament, a writ of election is issued for each constituency
United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly....
 (in the UK) or electoral district
Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a Riding in Canadian English political jargon, is a geographically-based constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based....
 (in Canada).

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...
, this writ is issued mainly by state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 governor
Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the Executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, a governor may be the title of each appointed or elected politician who governs a constitutive state....
s for filling vacancies in the 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....
, 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....
, or the states' own legislatures.

In Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, the writs are issued by the Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the Monarchy of Australia . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth....
 for the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house, the upper house being the Australian Senate....
 and by the respective state Governors for the Senate
Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. The lower house is known as the Australian House of Representatives....
. State governors also issue the writs for elections in the state and territorial legislatures
Parliaments of the Australian states and territories

The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Australia. Before the formation of the Commonwealth in 1901, the six Australian colonies were self-governing, with parliaments which had come into existence at various times between 1825, when the New South Wales Legislative Cou...
. The writs are issued to the relevant Electoral Officer or Returning Officer
Returning Officer

In various parliamentary systems, a Returning Officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies....
, as the case may be, who must return them after the election has been held within a fixed period.