The phrase "a formal election" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to an election that follows established procedures and regulations, typically in a political or organizational context.
Example: "The committee decided to hold a formal election to select the new president."
Alternatives: "an official election" or "a structured election".
The museum is calling for a formal election conducted under the supervision of the National Labor Relations Board.
In many states, a formal election is still necessary to select the delegates the state will send to the national party conventions this summer.
We'll be putting together a formal election policy in the near future with more details.
He added that from a personal perspective he was in place through a formal election process and that his period as chair will come to a natural end.
A formal election kickoff is set for the end of May in Vermont.
We've already had glimpses of how a full and formal election contest would look.
His eldest son, Güyük (Kuyuk), had been designated to the throne; his formal election in a great kuriltai, or general assembly of shamans, was witnessed by the friars along with more than 3,000 envoys and deputies from all parts of the Mongol Empire.
After General Eyadéma's death in 2005, the military installed his son Faure Gnassingbé, and then engineered his formal election; that election incited a tide of violence and civil dissent.
Kevin McCarthy of California, the House majority leader, is next in line as speaker but would have to secure the votes of his caucus in a formal leadership election.
formally refuses to recognize the union, the graduate assistants plan to ask the labor board to hold a formal unionization election, a request that might prompt the board to reverse the 2004 decision.
The Democrats are to start their organizing caucus on Jan . 3with the formal election of Mr. Silver, who selects a new majority leader and makes other leadership appointments.
