A more thorough explanation:

Elections are when citizens vote to make choices. There are two types of elections: general elections and special elections. General elections happen at a regular interval, while special elections happen when something unexpected arises. For example, if an elected official suddenly leaves their position, a special election may be held to fill the vacancy.

The government plays an active role in structuring elections and the electoral process. Each state carries out the electoral process by following their own state laws. The U.S. Constitution provides states the right to choose their own Representatives and Senators for the United States Congress. Presidential elections are different because the people of the respective states vote for a Presidential candidate by choosing that candidate's slate of Electors. After the state's citizens have chosen a slate of Electors, the Electors then formally elect the President and Vice-President by casting their respective votes. When all states' slates of Electors arrive to cast their votes, the aggregate group makes up that which has come to be known as "the Electoral College."

For example, in the United States, the President is elected every four years through a process called the Electoral College. Each state is assigned a certain number of electors based on its population. The candidate who wins the most votes in a state gets all of that state's electors. The candidate who wins the majority of electors across the country becomes the President.

States may individually decide how to carry out their elections for Representatives, Senators, and electors. Each state differs in structure, with most assigning administrative offices the task of running elections. States also differ on rules concerning when, where, and how citizens may vote.

Changes in election law have occurred over time. For example, the 17th Amendment mandates that the people directly elect the senators, and explicitly bars state legislatures from choosing the state's U.S. Senators. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 protects minorities' voting rights. Recently-passed federal statutes have created a means for military personnel and overseas citizens to vote and have aided the elderly and disabled citizens' ability to vote. Some states have recently begun adopting voter identification laws as well in an effort to combat voter fraud.

Campaign reform has also been a topic of discussion. The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) was passed in 1971 to closely regulate federal elections. The law increased necessary disclosure of federal campaign contributions and created the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to administer federal elections. The McCain-Feingold (Bipartisan Campaign Reform) Act of 2002 (BCRA) amended the FECA to add a provision, which disallowed federal candidates from using corporate and union funding to launch television ads on satellite or cable within 30 days of a primary and 60 days of a general election. A second amendment prohibited candidates and political parties at both the national and state levels from spending soft money on federal elections.

Examples of elections include the United States Presidential election, state and local elections, and international elections. These elections allow citizens to have a say in who represents them and what policies are put in place. They are an important part of democracy and ensure that leaders are held accountable to the will of the people.