Election (1999 film) was written by Alexander Payne.
Alexander Payne ( born Constantine Alexander Payne ; February 10 , 1961 ) is an American film director , screenwriter , and producer , known for the films Citizen Ruth ( 1996 ) , Election ( 1999 ) , About Schmidt ( 2002 ) , Sideways ( 2004 ) , The Descendants ( 2011 ) , and Nebraska ( 2013 ) . Election is a 1999 American black comedy-drama film directed and written by Alexander Payne and adapted by him and Jim Taylor from Tom Perrotta 's 1998 novel of the same title .