I once let lunatic vote (8)
I believe the answer is:
election
'vote' is the definition.
(election is a kind of vote)
'i once let lunatic' is the wordplay.
'lunatic' indicates an anagram.
'i'+'once'+'let'='ioncelet'
'ioncelet' with letters rearranged gives 'ELECTION'.
(Other definitions for election that I've seen before include "Voting opportunity" , "Procedure for choosing government" , "Choice by vote" , "Competition by ballot" , "An act of democracy" .)