Politics & Government vocabulary · Elections and Voting
Electorate
Meaning in politics & government, with examples
/ɪˈlektərət/nounCommon term
In politics & government, electorate means: All the people in a country or area who have the right to vote in an election.
In Turkish: seçmen kitlesi, seçmenler
How it is used
A collective noun used in election analysis and news. Analysts describe the electorate as young, ageing, divided or volatile, and parties try to appeal to different parts of it. In British English it can take a singular or a plural verb.
Example sentences
About a quarter of the electorate is under thirty.
The party needs to reach a wider electorate beyond the big cities.
Common collocations
the electorate
a divided electorate
appeal to the electorate
a volatile electorate
the wider electorate
Related terms
voterA person who has the legal right to vote in an election, or who actually votes in one.
turnoutThe number or percentage of eligible people who actually vote in an election or referendum.
constituencyAn area of a country that elects one or more representatives to parliament; also the voters who live there, or a group that supports a politician.
swing voterA voter who does not always support the same party and may change their choice from one election to the next, so campaigns work hard to win them.
