# Elections and Parties

An election is a political technology, not a transparent opinion meter. Eligibility, registration, districting, ballot access, candidate recruitment, party rules, money, media, turnout, administration, counting, litigation, and concession shape the result. Voting systems produce strategic incentives, party structures, and representation patterns.

Parties coordinate across offices and time, but they also gatekeep. Movements may win office, change a party, pressure every party, or alter the conditions under which office operates. Always separate winning the contest from governing the institution and sustaining the coalition.
