What was the voting process in ancient Rome?

Answer 1

During the republic the voting process was different from present day voting methods as voters were divided by tribes into two assemblies, the assembly of tribes, (comitia tributa) and the assembly of wards (comitia centuriata). They did not have a one-man-one-vote system as we have. Each ward and each tribe had one vote.

Answer 2

The voting system in the Roman Republic was very different from our present day ones. We have a "one man one vote" system: the Romans had a one tribe one vote system. This mean that the voting members of a tribe had to get together and agree on a candidate or a proposal or whatever else thy were asked to sanction with a vote. The Romans also had a voting assembly based on class and property.

This one tribe-one-vote meant that once one tribe had reached its decision by majority vote, its vote counted as one vote. Each tribe voted separately. As each tribe's vote counted for one vote, the final decision was determined by the vote of the majority of the tribes.

The same applied to the assembly of the soldiers, which was called the assembly of the centuries. This assembly was made up of 193 centuries, which meant 193 votes as each of them counted for one vote. A bill was approved or an election determined when the yes was was given by 97 centuries and when this number was reached voting stopped. The centuries were also classified into five classes determined by the value of property ownership. The richest of these classes had more centuries than the poorer ones. Voting was done one century at a time, and the richer classes voted first. The cavalry, which had the very richest men, had 18 centuries and the first infantry class (the richest of the infantrymen) had 80, which made a total of 98 votes. Therefore, these two groups could reach the majority on their own. As a result, the poorer classes hardly ever voted. Later the system was reformed and a majority was reached only when the third class had started to vote.

Answer 3

The higher officials (the consuls, praetors and censors) were elected by the Assembly of the Soldiers. The lower officials were elected by the Assembly of the Tribes, which gathered all citizens. Their term of office was one year, except for the censors who were elected every 18 months.