-Roman+Politics

Politics in ancient Rome were mostly dominated by the older upper class people. They were divided into two "groups": Populares and Optimates. The Populares tried to satisfy the people of ancient Rome, and often looked to them to help them with certain decisions. On the other hand, the Optimates was in favor of only the wealthy, upper-class people. When it came to campaigning, wealth was a very important factor. The wealthier a person was, the more likely he would be elected. Another way for politicians to get an edge on the competition was bribery. The wealthier candidates could bribe other powerful families in the area to help become better known. As for election day, the people of Rome would join together in small groups and form many single file lines. At the front of these lines would be a man with a wooden tablet where the Roman citizens could inscribe their vote for the electoral process. Once the voter made his decision, they would place the wooden tablet in a large urn where they would be collected later to count the votes. Once political leaders realized this process took up too much time, they built structures and had designated areas solely for voting.


 * Note** -- By law, women were not allowed to vote or hold office at all. However, the upper-class women had a large influence over the voting process because they could walk the streets in support of a candidate and always be respected by the people.