Popular election or popular vote may refer to:

• Any election in a democracy
• An election taking place under universal suffrage
• Direct election, an election in which people vote directly for the candidate that they want
• Popular vote, in an indirect election, is the total number of votes received in the first-phase election, as opposed to the votes cast by those elected to take part in the final election
  • In United States presidential elections it connotes the total number or percentage of votes cast for a candidate by voters in the 50 states and Washington, D.C., as distinguished from the electoral college vote which decides the outcome. See also the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
• Referendum, or plebiscite, a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to vote on a particular proposal
• Straw poll, an ad hoc or unofficial vote
• Popularity contest, pejorative