Why The November 2 Election Is Called General Election

A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election.

General election is also a term used in opposition to primary election. In the United States, primary elections serve to narrow down a field of candidates, and general elections actually elect candidates to offices. The general election is usually held on Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.

It meets the above definition of "general election" in that the entire United States House of Representatives is elected on Election Day, though not the entire United States Congress. Prior to the 17th Amendment, members of the United States Senate were not directly elected by the people but rather by their state legislature. Though Senators have been directly elected since then, only one-third of them are up for election on any given Election Day. The U.S. President is also chosen during a November general election that follows primaries.

On November 2, or prior to that date, voters made choices for various elected offices on the Federal, State and local areas. This Primary Election, as opposed to the General Election, was held February 2.

In the Primary Election voters chose candidates to be included on the ballot for the General Election. During the period between the two elections other candidates could be added under certain terms. For instance candidates could file for candidacy as an independent or an entire slate for a Party that does not have a slate selected.