The formal process of choosing a public official or accepting or rejecting a political proposition through voting. Elections can take place at the local, county, state, and federal levels of government. Elected officials determine policies that affect your daily life: how much money your local schools get, the quality of the roads you drive on, access to healthcare and job security, and many other issues. Voting is one of the most important civic duties and can be a rewarding experience in terms of getting to know your candidates and their views.
Elections help to establish the legitimacy of a polity by revealing the actions and intentions of those who wield power to popular scrutiny. They also serve to link citizens, facilitating social and political integration. In authoritarian regimes, elections can be used to manipulate the public by obscuring their true nature and introducing false alternatives.
In democracies, elections are seen as a pillar of the democratic system. However, there are criticisms that they are not as open and egalitarian as envisioned in the founding of democracy, with some scholars arguing for alternatives such as sortition-based systems.