Electorate
In
politics, an
electorate is the
group of
entities entitled to
vote in an
election. The term can refer to:
- the totality of voters or electors (the electorate has the opportunity to express its will)
- the partisans of a particular individual, group or political party (Gospodin Putin played to the prejudices of his personal electorate)
- the collection of the voters enrolleded in a geographically-defined area (the electorate of Finchley retuned the Tory candidate again)
- the geographically-defined area which returns (elects) a representative (the electorate of Finchley borders on the electorate of Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, splitting the new housing estate of Royal Cupolas). Compare ward, district.
The term was also sometimes used to refer to the dominion of an Elector in the
Holy Roman Empire, who was a prince or bishop able to participate in the selection of the Emperor. One particularly well known electorate of this type was the Electorate of
Hanover. In this usage, the word refers to a realm controlled by a single elector, rather than a collective of multiple electors (as in the other usages given).