- published: 06 Jan 2010
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Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the electoral system used. The most commonly used systems are the plurality system and the two round system for single winner elections, such as a presidential election, and party-list proportional representation for the election of a legislature.
Examples of directly elected bodies are the European Parliament and the United States Senate (since 1917).
By contrast, in an indirect election, the voters cast elect an assembly which in turn elects the officeholder in question.
Richard E. Mourdock (born October 8, 1951) is the 53rd Treasurer of State of the U.S. State of Indiana and the Republican nominee for United States Senate election in Indiana, 2012. He began his term as treasurer on February 10, 2007 and was re-elected in November 2010. Mourdock became the Republican nominee for a United States Senate seat from Indiana in the 2012 election after he defeated incumbent Senator Richard Lugar in the primary election.
Murdock was born on October 8, 1951 in Wauseon, Ohio. He graduated from Defiance College in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Systems and from Ball State University in 1975 with a Master of Arts degree in Geology. Afterwards, Mourdock took a position as a field geologist with AMAX Coal Company and was ultimately promoted to Surface Mine Geology Project Coordinator until his departure from the company in 1979.
From 1979 to 1984, Mourdock was employed by Standard Oil of Ohio as a Senior Geologist and ultimately became Chief Geologist for the company. In 1984, Mourdock accepted a position with Koester Companies in Evansville, Indiana. For sixteen years, Mourdock served as Vice President of the company's coal subsidiary and eventually became Vice President of Business Development for the parent company. In addition, Mourdock served as a Trustee for the company's employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). In 2000, Mourdock founded a successful environmental consulting business and provided various services to numerous clients until being elected as Indiana's State Treasurer in 2006.