A writ of election is a writ issued by the government ordering the holding of a special election for a political office.
In the United Kingdom and in Canada, this is the only way of holding an election for the House of Commons. When the government wants to or is required to dissolve Parliament, a writ of election is issued for each constituency by the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery (in the UK) or electoral district by the Chief Electoral Officer (in Canada).
In the United States, this writ is issued mainly by state governors for filling vacancies in the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, or the states' own legislatures.
In Australia, the writs are issued by the Governor-General for the House of Representatives and by the respective state Governors for the Senate. State governors also issue the writs for elections in the state and territorial legislatures. The writs are issued to the relevant Electoral Officer or Returning Officer, as the case may be, who must return them after the election has been held within a fixed period
Famous quotes containing the words writ and/or election:
“We cannot learn the cipher
That’s writ upon our cell;
Stars help us by a mystery
Which we could never spell.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“[If not re-elected in 1864] then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)