A referendum is a special vote where people decide a question, not a person. You are not choosing a president. You are saying yes or no (or picking among a few options) about a law or a big public issue — whether to change a rule, join a group of countries, or keep an old system. The question is set in advance; then voters answer it. After the count, that answer is meant to settle the matter, though people sometimes still argue about what the result “really” meant. Some countries use referendums often; others almost never. The plural is referendums, or, in a more Latin style, referenda. Though actually, this is not the same as an election: an election picks people to hold a job; a referendum picks an answer to a subject.