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The Tribal Assembly was an assembly consisting of all Roman citizens convened by tribes.
In the Roman Republic, citizens did not elect legislative representatives. Instead, they voted themselves on legislative matters in the popular assemblies. Bills were proposed by magistrates and the citizens only exercised their right to vote.
In the Tribal Assembly, citizens were organized on the basis of 35 tribes: four urban tribes of the citizens in the city of Rome, and 31 rural tribes of citizens outside the city. Each tribe voted separately and one after the other. In each tribe, decisions were made by majority vote and its decision counted as one vote regardless of how many electors each tribe held. Once a majority of tribes voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended and the matter was decided.
The Tribal Assembly was chaired by a magistrate, usually a consul or a praetor. The presiding magistrate made all decisions on matters of procedure and legality. His power over the assembly could be nearly absolute. One check on his power came in the form of vetoes by other magistrates. Also, any decision made by a presiding magistrate could be vetoed by the plebeian tribunes.