In election law within the United States, a general election is an election held pursuant to a periodic schedule, in which a candidate for the office that the election concerns will become the scheduled successor to that office, if that candidate receives the majority of votes cast. In most jurisdictions, a candidate receiving a general-election plurality would also succeed to that office in the absence of a majority, but in others, at least for some offices when no candidate achieves a majority, the two top candidates in a general election become candidates in a further election, usually called a runoff election, which decides the successor.
The term "general election" is used principally to distinguish that election from one or more primary elections regarding the same office, that may be held prior to that general election: one such "primary" can occur corresponding to each eligible political party that has more than one legally qualified candidate seeking to appear on the general election ballot as the party's candidate for the office.
The term also distinguishes "the general" from a special election, held in some jurisdictions and circumstances to fill an office that became vacant prior to the end of the corresponding term.