It was the only way for a non-League side to enter the Football League until direct promotion and relegation was introduced from the 1986–87 season onwards.
[1] Re-election existed as early as 1890 when Stoke City failed to retain their Football League status.
The club which had to undergo the largest number of re-election campaigns, Hartlepool United, with fourteen between 1924 and 1984, was never voted out of the league[1][4] but a small number of other clubs were, the last of those being Workington in 1977 and Southport in 1978, who lost their league places to Wimbledon and Wigan Athletic respectively.
Clubs that lost their league place during that time were Aberdare Athletic (1927), Durham City (1928), Ashington (1929), Merthyr Town (1930), Newport County (1931), Nelson (1931), Gillingham (1938) and New Brighton (1951).
Norwich City had to apply for re-election to the Football League four times between 1931 and 1957, but this was soon followed by an upturn in fortunes which included a run to the FA Cup semi-finals in 1959, promotion to the Second Division a year later, Football League Cup glory in 1962, and promotion to the First Division for the first time in 1972.
A third promotion to the top flight in 1989 was followed by an FA Cup final appearance the following season and a third place finish a year later.
Of those, five failed to gain re-election: Gateshead (1960), Bradford (Park Avenue) (1970), Barrow (1972), Workington (1977) and Southport (1978).
Unsuccessful, Wigan Athletic even achieved a higher vote then Bradford Park Avenue, reaching 18.
After three more successful campaigns in 1974, 1975 and 1976 the club's league membership came to an end on 17 June 1977 when Wimbledon received 27 votes and Workington only 21, finishing fifth in the tally.
[9] The last club to lose their Football League status through a vote was Southport, who were replaced by Wigan Athletic in 1978.
Blackpool, FA Cup winners in 1953 and First Division members as recently as 1971, had to apply for re-election in 1983, as did Preston North End, who had won the first two Football League titles in 1889 and 1890, as well as winning the FA Cup as late as 1938 and playing in the First Division as late as 1961.