the.com/elector
A citizen whose main power is picking who gets blamed next.
means A person entitled to vote in an election, or — in older usage — a German prince with the right to help choose the Holy Roman Emperor.
from From Latin 'elector,' meaning 'chooser,' built on the verb 'eligere' — 'to pick out' or 'select,' combining 'ex' (out) and 'legere' (to choose, gather). The word's most famous historical use belonged to the Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, a handful of nobles whose literal job title was 'the ones who pick the emperor.' English borrowed the word for everyday voters later, quietly democratizing a term that once belonged to a very small, very powerful club.
- origin
- Latin eligere, to pick out
- electoral college
- actual electors outnumber popular voters' direct say
- faithless electors
- some legally vote against their state's results
- turnout myth
- being eligible does not mean showing up