What is "at-large"

a. (alternative spelling of at large English)

adj. representing the whole of a state or body rather than one specific division or part of it; "ambassador-at-large" [syn: at-large(ip)]

At-large is a designation for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body (for example, a city, state or province, nation, club or association), rather than a subset of that membership. At-large voting is in contrast to voting by electoral districts.

If an at-large election is called to choose a single candidate, a single-winner voting system must necessarily be used. If a group of seats must be covered, many electoral systems can be possible, from proportional representation methods (such as PR-STV) to block voting.