Adlection was the term for a process that the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 used to fill civic vacancies. It was most known for filling the Senate

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

 to the requisite number, when membership fell below the ordained number of members. This number changed with time, as the Roman Constitution

Roman Constitution

The Roman Constitution was an uncodified set of guidelines and principles passed down mainly through precedent. The Roman constitution was not formal or even official, largely unwritten and constantly evolving. Concepts that originated in the Roman constitution live on in constitutions to this day...

, (Res Publica, or, [lit.] 'Public Thing'), was a dynamic phenomenon. Adlection was also used to fill vacancies in the other constitutional offices and priesthoods, (which were state offices in Rome).