Despite Sulla's dictatorship, Roman elections continued for the most part as they had for the previous four centuries. Further, the powers he stripped from the tribunes were restored over the next decade. These developments were a welcome return to the traditions of the Roman constitution, but in many ways, they were a return to normalcy in appearance only. For in many ways, the Roman electoral system was in crisis. First, from the time of Tiberius Gracchus, violence had become a regular part of Roman assemblies, as noted earlier. Second, bribery and corruption had become a common feature of Roman elections. The Romans did attempt to address the issue of bribery and passed any number of laws to restrict it. One such law was passed in 67 BCE, which was immediately put to use in the consular elections for 66 BCE; the two candidates who received the most votes were prosecuted for bribery and were prevented from taking office. This law and its effective enforcement is one example of the Romans's attempt to respond to their political crises.

The third challenge Roman elections had to confront was a result of the first two, namely legitimacy and a subsequent unwillingness to abide peacefully by the election results. In the consular election of 63 BCE, among the candidates was Lucius Sergius Catiline. Catiline had made a fortune in the Sullan proscriptions, which he subsequently squandered, and he personally took part in the brutal murder and mutilation of Marcus Marius Gratidianus, nephew of Gaius Marius. Catiline had run in 64 BCE for consul, but lost to Gaius Antonius and Cicero. The threat of violence loomed over the consular elections in 63 BCE; they even had to be postponed once. As an indication of the dangers he faced presiding over the election, Cicero conspicuously wore a breastplate into the Campus Martius where the elections were held. To the relief of many Romans, Catiline lost again in 63 BCE despite making radical promises to cancel all debts and engaging in extensive bribery, both symptoms of economic inequality. But Catiline, unable to secure another political office from which he could pay off his debts, was a desperate man willing to take desperate measures. Catiline allied with some of Sulla's veterans, who, no longer having a patron to call upon, were aggrieved at having fallen into debt, and together they conspired to overthrow the Roman government.