Elections in Cygnia (Joan of What?)

is a   under a, with elected officials at the federal, state and local levels. On a national level, all members of the federal legislature, the, are directly elected by the people of each state. The composition of the legislature determines who becomes the – the head of His Imperial Majesty's Government. At the state and territorial levels, the – who is not elected – is represented by Governors General in the states, and by Governors in the territories. In most states and territories, these Governors and Governors General are elected directly, although some of them are appointed on the advice of the respective state/territory's Prime Minister or First Minister. Each state and territory also has its own independent legislature. There are also elected offices in Local Government Areas. According to a study by political scientist Jennifer Lawless, there were 381,629 elected officials in Cygnia as of 2012.

State law, not federal, regulates most aspects of the elections, including primaries, the eligibility of voters (beyond the basic constitutional definition), and the running of state and local elections. The defines (to a basic extent) how the elections of federal officials are conducted in each state, in Article One and Article Two and various. The restriction and extension of voting rights to different groups has been a contested process throughout Cygnia's history. Since 1855, voting has been compulsory for all eligible electors in all state and federal elections, although participation in local elections remains voluntary.

The financing of elections has always been controversial, because private sources have historically made up substantial amounts of campaign contributions, especially in federal elections. Since 1974 the Federal Election Campaign Act has mandated that an annual portion of the budget be set aside for the next general election, to be distributed equally as public financing to political parties. The, which is responsible for regulating elections throughout Cygnia, is also charged with the duty of disclosing campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Cygnian federal elections.