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election: Quick Facts

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News •

After Israel’s Election, Who Will Get the First Chance to Form a Government? • Nov. 7, 2026, 3:02 AM ET (New York Times)
New Zealand’s Election ‘Too Close to Call’ as Voters Turn to Minor Parties • Nov. 6, 2026, 3:51 PM ET (New York Times)
The election brought a wave of historic firsts. Here are some groundbreaking winners • Nov. 5, 2026, 11:39 AM ET (PBS)
Shin Bet: Election probe based on its own intelligence • Oct. 29, 2026, 3:54 PM ET (Jerusalem Post)
Wisconsin elections officials issue guidance for handling federal agents at polls • Oct. 15, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (PBS)

Facts

Also Known As vote • periodic election

Photos and Videos

Map of Canada displaying the results of the 2008 federal election by province and territory, with regions shaded to indicate the leading party's share of the popular vote: blue for Conservative, red for Liberal, light blue for Bloc Quebecois, and orange for New Democratic Party. Each area is labeled with the number of seats won by each party, and a legend at the bottom summarizes national seat totals for each party.
Afghans voting, 2009
Polling place
Black and white illustration of men from different social classes voting in private booths at a British polling station in 1880, with a sign reading Polling Station 6, T to Z and all lodgers.
Lincoln-Hamlin election poster
The difference between a primary and caucus, explained
A hand places a ballot in a box with an American flag in the background. Large text reads What's the point? with a blue arrow pointing to the ballot.
Two people in suits with their heads replaced by scoops of ice cream against a striped background and a red flag labeled VOTE!
What is Super Tuesday?
Understand the importance of electoral exit polling after an election
See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Related Topics and References

Topics
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Key People

Catherine Helen Spence
Catherine Helen Spence
Australian author
Getúlio Vargas, 1951
Getúlio Vargas
president of Brazil
Roh Tae-Woo
Roh Tae-Woo
president of South Korea
A Republican fixture
James Baker
American government official and political manager
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg
German statesman
Farley, James A.
James A. Farley
American politician
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Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
Nigerian entrepreneur and politician
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Louis Harris
American journalist and pollster
Mark Hanna
Mark Hanna
American industrialist
Luitpold, detail from a portrait by Friedrich August von Kaulbach, 1902; in the Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen, Munich
Luitpold
prince regent of Bavaria
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John Jebb
British religious and social reformer
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Johan Rudolf Thorbecke
prime minister of the Netherlands
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Elmo Roper
American pollster
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Larry O’Brien
American political organizer and government official
Sáenz Peña
Roque Sáenz Peña
president of Argentina
Nicholas II
Nicholas II
pope
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V. O. Key, Jr.
American political scientist
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Robert McKenzie
British political scientist

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Election - Voters in polling station voting in 2012 Presidential Election, Ventura County, California, November 6, 2012.
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