While many people in the western world make take political elections for granted, they are one of the principle tenants of democracy and freedom. An election is the process whereby the population of a state makes a decision as to who they want to hold government office. The use of elections is universally recognised, and any nation that is truly democratic chooses its leaders based on the election process. While this process may differ between nations, there are a number of centrally held beliefs which have become characteristic of a universal election process.

In most democratic governments there are a number of levels of national, regional and local elections. These are often held independently of each other, although the same rules often apply for issues relating to who is allowed or expected to vote. The question as to who is eligible to vote in an election has always been an important one, with many sectors of society who can now vote having once been excluded. For example, in ancient Greek society - women, slaves, and non-citizens were not allowed to vote. Discrimination during elections has continued until recent times, with groups often historically excluded based on race, sex and class.

In some nations, voting at an election is required by law, and in others it is seen as a personal choice. Another distinction between democratic nations regarding elections is that of partisan versus non-partisan systems. In a direct democratic non-partisan system, anyone can be nominated for office, whereas in a partisan system, someone must already be a member of a political party. In some representative non-partisan election systems, no nomination process takes place at all, with anyone free to vote for anyone else at the time of an election. For some government and military positions, an election often does not take place, as these roles need to be filled by experienced people who are appointed rather than elected.

The voting or electorol systems also differ greatly among democratic nations, as there are many ways to come to a decision as to who has won an election. These systems can be split into either proportional or majoritarian. While there is often controversy surrounding the election processes held in different nations, an election is the most important defining part of any democracy.