100+ ElectionTrivia Questions & Answers

Question: What is the formal group decision-making process to choose individuals for public office?

Answer: An election

Question: Which system has been the usual mechanism of modern representative democracy since the 17th century?

Answer: Elections

Question: What term describes reforms that introduce or improve fair electoral systems?

Answer: Electoral reform

Question: Which field studies election results and statistics, often to predict outcomes?

Answer: Psephology

Question: Which ancient method of selecting officials by lot was preferred in Athens over elections?

Answer: Sortition

Question: What single word denotes the fact of electing or being elected?

Answer: Election

Question: Which word literally means “to select or make a decision” and can refer to referendums in the U.S.?

Answer: Elect

Question: Which two broad categories describe most electoral systems?

Answer: Proportional and majoritarian

Question: What is another name for single-winner plurality voting?

Answer: First-past-the-post

Question: Which modern practice is vital in free elections to protect voter privacy?

Answer: Secret ballot

Question: Which type of democracy typically uses elections to pick representatives rather than random draws?

Answer: Representative democracy

Question: What method do many modern democracies use to fill legislative, executive, or judicial offices?

Answer: Elections

Question: What do you call open contests within a political party to select its candidates?

Answer: Primary elections

Question: Which electoral approach combines proportional and majoritarian elements?

Answer: Mixed-member proportional

Question: What is the main goal of a political campaign?

Answer: To compete for votes

Question: Which election in the United States reportedly cost about US$7 billion in 2012?

Answer: The presidential election

Question: What term is used for an election lacking genuine competition, held mostly for show?

Answer: A sham election

Question: Frequent elections can lead to what phenomenon that reduces voter participation?

Answer: Voter fatigue

Question: What is the most common reason an election is not free or fair under weak rule of law?

Answer: Incumbent government interference

Question: Besides government interference, which factor can undermine an election’s fairness?

Answer: Fraud or intimidation

Question: Which ancient city regarded elections as oligarchic, preferring sortition for officeholders?

Answer: Ancient Athens

Question: Which empire in around 920 CE used the Kudavolai system with palm leaves to select committee members?

Answer: The Chola Empire

Question: Which early medieval Bengal king was elected by a group of feudal chieftains?

Answer: Pala King Gopala

Question: What medieval selection process was historically used to choose popes?

Answer: Papal election

Question: Which Spartan officials were chosen by popular election starting in 754 BC?

Answer: Ephors

Question: Which city-state’s 574 BC reforms under Solon allowed certain classes to vote and serve as jurors?

Answer: Athens

Question: Which polity held the earliest known popular elections of officials by majority vote in 754 BC?

Answer: Sparta

Question: Under Solon’s reforms, how many top wealth-based classes in Athens could vote and hold office?

Answer: Three

Question: Which procedure of choosing officials by lot was favored in ancient Athens over elections?

Answer: Sortition

Question: In 1946, Finland’s parliament elected which prime minister to succeed President Mannerheim?

Answer: Paasikivi

Question: Which social group historically dominated voting in early North American and European elections?

Answer: Landed or ruling class males

Question: By 1920, many Western democracies began considering which major expansion of suffrage?

Answer: Women’s suffrage

Question: In which country were Aboriginal people not granted the right to vote until 1962?

Answer: Australia

Question: Which Australian referendum is noted in the text regarding Aboriginal rights?

Answer: The 1967 referendum

Question: Which region in Australia fines individuals for not voting in certain elections?

Answer: Western Australia

Question: Which Roman law of 90 BC extended voting rights beyond the city of Rome, drastically enlarging the electorate?

Answer: Lex Julia

Question: Around 70 BC, what was the estimated maximum voter turnout in Rome, despite an electorate of 910,000?

Answer: 10%

Question: Which kingdom had about 214,000 eligible voters in 1780, only 3% of its population?

Answer: The Kingdom of Great Britain

Question: Which historic empire selected its emperor using a process known as an imperial election?

Answer: The Holy Roman Empire

Question: Which long-standing method for choosing popes has been in use since medieval times?

Answer: Papal conclave (papal election)

Question: In which election did Andrew Jackson win the popular vote but lose the presidency in 1824?

Answer: The 1824 U.S. presidential election

Question: Which president prevailed in 1876 despite losing the popular vote to Samuel Tilden?

Answer: Rutherford B Hayes

Question: Who won the popular vote in 1888 but lost to Benjamin Harrison?

Answer: Grover Cleveland

Question: Which Supreme Court ruling ended the Florida recount in the 2000 election, securing victory for George W Bush?

Answer: Bush v. Gore

Question: In 2016, who won the popular vote by 2.9 million but lost the presidency?

Answer: Hillary Clinton

Question: Which president served nonconsecutive terms after winning in 1884, losing in 1888, and winning again in 1892?

Answer: Grover Cleveland

Question: Which president similarly won in 2016, lost re-election in 2020, but won the presidency again in 2024?

Answer: Donald Trump

Question: Name one constitutional requirement to serve as U.S. president, per Article II, Section 1, Clause 5.

Answer: Must be at least 35 years old (others: 14 years’ residency, natural-born citizen)

Question: Which election saw the highest percentage turnout since 1972, at 61.3% of the voting-age population?

Answer: The 1992 election

Question: Which president died of pneumonia one month into his term?

Answer: William Henry Harrison

Question: Which president was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Question: According to the text, how many U.S. presidents have died in office?

Answer: Eight

Question: Which president was assassinated in 1881 after only a few months in office?

Answer: James Garfield

Question: Who is the only U.S. president ever unanimously elected?

Answer: George Washington

Question: Which president received every electoral vote but one, cast by a delegate who wanted Washington to be uniquely unanimous?

Answer: James Monroe

Question: Who was the first woman to run for U.S. president in 1872?

Answer: Victoria Woodhull

Question: Which major party’s first female presidential nominee ran in 2016?

Answer: Hillary Clinton

Question: Who was the first president born as a U.S. citizen rather than a British subject?

Answer: Martin Van Buren

Question: Which president died from a heart attack while in office?

Answer: Warren G Harding

Question: Which president died in office from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1945?

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt

Question: What do you call elections staggered over time rather than held on one single day?

Answer: Rolling elections

Question: Which parliamentary mechanism allows an incumbent government to choose a favorable election date?

Answer: Flexible dissolution

Question: Which ancient society had an electorate of up to 910,000 by 70 BC but low turnout?

Answer: Rome

Question: Which election is cited as costing around US$7 billion, making it extremely expensive?

Answer: The 2012 U.S. presidential election

Question: Which 2014 election in Asia reportedly cost around US$5 billion?

Answer: The Indian general election

Question: What term describes the diminishing participation caused by too many electoral events?

Answer: Voter fatigue

Question: In 1892 Buenos Aires, which force kept rival voters back, illustrating election interference?

Answer: Armed police

Question: According to the text, which two nations interfered in multiple foreign elections between 1946 and 2000?

Answer: The United States and Russia (or the Soviet Union)

Question: Which two places experienced intense foreign disinformation campaigns in 2018, per the text?

Answer: Taiwan (by China) and Latvia (by Russia)

Question: What is the illicit practice of putting extra or fake ballots into the ballot box?

Answer: Ballot stuffing

Question: Which 1990 election in Myanmar was won by the opposition but not recognized by the ruling regime?

Answer: The 1990 Myanmar general election

Question: Which 1927 Liberian election famously reported more votes than voters for the winner?

Answer: Charles D. B. King’s election

Question: What do we call an election where only the ruling party’s candidate is permitted to run?

Answer: A sham election

Question: In one-option referendums, how might authorities ensure a “yes” vote?

Answer: Persecuting dissenters

Question: Which 1929 and 1934 polls are mentioned as show elections under a fascist government?

Answer: Elections in Fascist Italy

Question: In which country did the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) dominate presidential races for decades, raising fraud concerns?

Answer: Mexico

Question: Which 2014 referendums in Ukraine are cited as examples of sham votes under foreign occupation?

Answer: Crimean and Donbas status referendums

Question: Which 2022 referendum in Russian-occupied Ukraine is noted in the text as illegitimate?

Answer: The 2022 annexation referendum

Question: Which parliamentary system sets only a maximum term but allows the leader to pick the election date?

Answer: Systems like the UK

Question: What is the practice of forcing potential candidates not to run through threats or bribes?

Answer: Election tampering

Question: Which selection mechanism is sometimes seen as aristocratic because it favors certain candidate attributes?

Answer: Electoral representation

Question: What is the practice of redrawing districts to benefit a particular group or party?

Answer: Gerrymandering

Question: Which ballot method is crucial for protecting voters from intimidation?

Answer: Secret ballot

Question: In a non-partisan direct democracy, who can be nominated for office?

Answer: Any eligible person

Question: Which ranked-choice method involves voters listing candidates by preference and eliminating the lowest each round?

Answer: Instant-runoff voting

Question: How often are U.S. presidential elections constitutionally scheduled?

Answer: Every four years

Question: Which voting method can be used in smaller elections to achieve broader support than first-past-the-post?

Answer: Approval voting

Question: Whose assassination in 1963 led to Lyndon B. Johnson becoming president?

Answer: John F Kennedy

Question: Which election is known for its intense dispute ending in a Supreme Court decision about counting ballots?

Answer: The 2000 election

Question: How many times has a candidate won the U.S. popular vote but lost the election, according to the content?

Answer: Five times

Question: Who lost the 2000 U.S. presidential election despite winning the popular vote?

Answer: Al Gore

Question: Which founding document specifies that the U.S. President must be at least 35, a natural-born citizen, and resident for 14 years?

Answer: The U S Constitution

Question: On which day do Americans traditionally cast their votes for president and other offices?

Answer: Election Day

Question: Which system awards electoral votes to states, potentially allowing a president to win without the popular majority?

Answer: The Electoral College

Question: Which official becomes president if the current president can no longer serve?

Answer: The U S Vice President

Question: In which 1824 contest did Andrew Jackson win the popular vote but lose the presidency?

Answer: The 1824 U S presidential election

Question: Which president was assassinated in 1901, leading Theodore Roosevelt to assume office?

Answer: William McKinley

Question: Which significant milestone in American history, reached by 1920, granted women the right to vote nationwide?

Answer: Women’s suffrage

Question: Which building at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the official residence and workplace of the U.S. President?

Answer: The White House

Question: Which Democratic Party leader served as the 42nd U.S. President from 1993 to 2001?

Answer: Bill Clinton