plebiscite

plebiscite
    n 1: a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a
         question of national importance
    

Plebiscite \Pleb"i*scite\, n. [F. pl['e]biscite, fr. L.
   plebiscitum.]
   A vote by universal male suffrage; especially, in France, a
   popular vote, as first sanctioned by the National
   Constitution of 1791. [Written also {plebiscit}.]
   [1913 Webster]

         Plebiscite we have lately taken, in popular use, from
         the French.                              --Fitzed.
                                                  Hall.
   [1913 Webster]
    

PLEBISCITE, n.  A popular vote to ascertain the will of the sovereign.
    

61 Moby Thesaurus words for "plebiscite":
      Australian ballot, Hare system, aye, ballot, canvass, canvassing,
      casting vote, constitutional referendum, counting heads,
      cumulative voting, deciding vote, direct initiative, division,
      enfranchisement, facultative referendum, fagot vote, franchise,
      graveyard vote, hand vote, indirect initiative, initiative,
      list system, mandate, mandatory referendum, nay, no,
      nontransferable vote, plebiscitum, plumper, plural vote, poll,
      polling, preferential voting, proportional representation, proxy,
      recall, record vote, referendum, representation, right to vote,
      rising vote, say, secret ballot, show of hands, single vote,
      snap vote, statutory referendum, straw vote, suffrage,
      transferable vote, viva voce, voice, voice vote, vote, voting,
      voting right, write-in, write-in vote, yea, yeas and nays, yes