Plebiscite

Word of the Day for Tuesday, November 8, 2011

plebiscite \PLEB-uh-sahyt\, noun:

1. A direct vote of the qualified voters of a state in regard to some important public question.
2. The vote by which the people of a political unit determine autonomy or affiliation with another country.

How many of these were there? Not enough to put the verdict of the plebiscite in doubt, anyway.
-- Arthur C. Clark, The Last Theorem

It was he who devised the plebiscite and the governmental machinery for making plebiscites yield the desired results — ninety-eight percent of the votes in favour of tyranny, two percent against.
-- Aldous Huxley, Complete Essays

Plebiscite is comprised the Latin roots plebi meaning “common people” and scitum meaning “resolution or decree.”

With thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/