Elector

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An elector can be anyone who has a vote in an election:

• The prince-electors of the "Holy Roman Empire of German Nation", were the highest college in the Imperial diet, of originally seven (eight since 1648, later more) Electors (often thus shortened; Kurfürsten in German), both lay princes and Prince-archbishops, who had the exclusive right to elect the king or future Holy Roman Emperor.

• Specifically in the United States, electors are delegates who have the right to vote in the U.S. Electoral College for the President of the United States, see US Presidential Electors. A similar system have been used to elect the president in other countries too, e.g. in Finland until 1988.

• Generally, any voter can be called an elector; collectively such electors may comprise an electorate. The term "voter" to represent the general voting public is commonly used in American English, whereas the term "elector" is commonly used in Australian English.

• The title of a science fiction novella written by Charles Stross that appeared in the September 2004 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction. It was one of a series of shorter works that were combined to form Stross's 2005 novel Accelerando. The original story can be found online here [1], and the novel here[2].

[edit] See also

• This entry is related to, but not included in the elections and voting series. Other related articles can be found at the Politics Portal.