Elections in the Roman Republic

Common card · No. 395169

In the Roman Republic, elections were held annually for every major magistracy. They were conducted before two assemblies (Latin: comitia): the centuriate and tribal assemblies. The centuriate assembly, made up of centuries divided by wealth and age, elected the senior magistrates: those with imperium (the consuls and the praetors) and the censors. The tribal assembly, made up of tribes grouped by geography, elected all other magistrates. Plebeian tribunes and aediles were also elected by the tribal assembly although in a slightly different form. The formal electoral process started with an announcement by the prospective presiding magistrate of an election day, typically in July. Candidates then professed their candidacy to that magistrate. On the day of the election, the voting unit – centuries or tribes – would be called to give their votes. Citizens voted in person for their candidate and the unit registered one vote for each open post (eg, for the two consuls, a century would vote...

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