An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. This is the usual mechanism by which modern democracy fills offices in the legislature, and sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and in regional and local government. This is also typically the case in a wide range of other private and business organizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.

The universal acceptance of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern democracies is in sharp contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype, ancient Athens, where elections were considered an oligarchic institution and where most political offices were filled using sortition.

Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair and democratic electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving 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).

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L.A. Times - Politics

Todd Palin, husband of Sarah Palin: a 'true Alaskan'
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
A moose hunter, oil worker, snowmobile racer and hockey fan, 'first dude' Todd Palin is not a typical campaign spouse. The quiet man standing next to Sarah Palin is nothing like the other three campaign spouses caught in the whirlwind of the presidential race, and not just because he's a man.
Barack Obama, in Pennsylvania, tries to explain gun control stance
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Also: Oprah says no Sarah Palin on her daytime TV show and Palin won't make the rounds of Sunday talk shows either. Barack Obama wanted to talk about the economy Friday as he campaigned in Pennsylvania, especially in light of that morning's government report showing unemployment increasing to 6.1% in August.
Only I can bring change to Washington, McCain and Obama each claim
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The rivals, appearing in different states, also talk up their economic plans in the wake of the worst jobless report in five years and the announcement of a planned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout. Barack Obama on Saturday ridiculed John McCain's renewed emphasis on his reputation as a government reformer, mocking the Republican presidential nominee in unusually sharp language while campaigning in this traditional GOP stronghold.

Politics

Peter J. Boyer: Can the Democrats get a foothold on the religious vote?
Peter J. Boyer Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In the autumn of 1998, when Karl Rove was contriving to make Governor George W. Bush President and to build a lasting Republican majority, he came upon “The Catholic Voter Project,” a study of voting behavior in national elections since the Kennedy-Nixon contest of 1960. Catholics make up more . . .
Dorothy Wickenden: An old-style, Los Angeles feminist on Obama.
Dorothy Wickenden Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
Rosalind Wyman--seventy-seven years old; doughty feminist; political fund-raiser and philanthropist; hostess to J.F.K., Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton, and Hollywood types too numerous to count; youngest elected member of the Los Angeles City Council (at the age of twenty-two); first woman to run a national political . . .
Hendrik Hertzberg: What Barack Obama is up against.
Hendrik Hertzberg Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The week before the week before this week’s scheduled gathering of the delegates and their media camp followers in Denver, the nominee-presumptive of the Democratic Party did something that is strongly recommended, and ought to be mandatory, for anyone who has just logged a year and a half’s worth . . .

washingtonpost.com - Politics

Palin's Family Has Always Held a Place in Her Politics
Karl Vick and James V. Grimaldi Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400
WASILLA, Alaska -- One Friday in June, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin joined the chief of the state prison system on a tour of the Point MacKenzie Correctional Farm, a 90-minute drive north of Anchorage. It was a routine visit but for the presence of the governor's infant son, Trig.
Treasury to Rescue Fannie and Freddie
Zachary A. Goldfarb, David Cho and Binyamin Appelbaum Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400
The Bush administration yesterday prepared to take over the troubled housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, after concluding the companies don't have enough capital to continue to play their crucial role funding home mortgages.
Presidential Candidates Explain Their Capacity for Change
Michael D. Shear and Peter Slevin Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400
TERRE HAUTE, Ind., Sept. 6 -- Barack Obama and John McCain brought the battle over who is better prepared to change Washington to a pair of states that will be critical to the November election, and they sought to win over voters eager to turn the page on eight years of the Bush administration.

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