Popular election
# Popular election

Popular election or popular vote may refer to:

* Any election in a democracy
* An election taking place under universal suffrage
* Direct election, an election in which people vote directly for the candidate that they want
* Popular vote, in an indirect election, is the total number of votes received in the first-phase election, as opposed to the votes cast by those elected to take part in the final election
   * In United States presidential elections it connotes the total number or percentage of votes cast for a candidate by voters in the 50 states and Washington, D.C., as distinguished from the electoral college vote which decides the outcome. See also the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
* Referendum, or plebiscite, a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to vote on a particular proposal
* Straw poll, an ad hoc or unofficial vote
* Popularity contest, pejorative
