Elections are a fundamental group decision-making process where populations choose individuals for public office, serving as the primary mechanism for modern representative democracies since the 17th century across various levels of government and organizations. Interestingly, this modern practice contrasts with ancient Athens, where elections were considered an oligarchic institution and most political roles were filled by "sortition," or choosing by lot. Historically, elections date back to ancient Greece and Rome, with notable early examples including the election of Pala King Gopala in Bengal (c. 750s CE) and the Chola Empire's "Kudavolai system" around 920 CE, which used palm leaves drawn from a pot.
The earliest recorded popular elections, where all citizens could vote and hold office by majority, occurred with Sparta's Ephors in 754 BC, predating Athenian democratic elections—established under the reforms of Cleisthenes—by nearly 250 years. Throughout history, the expansion of suffrage has been a central theme, evolving from male-dominated electorates in countries like the UK and US to achieving universal adult male suffrage by 1920 in most Western nations, paving the way for women's suffrage movements despite persistent political barriers. Psephology is the dedicated study of election results and statistics.