The U.S. presidential election takes place Nov. 5. Here is a primer on some basic facts and information regarding the election.
Who is running in the US elections?
Apart from the most prominent contest — the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump — there are myriad other races on the ballot, spanning national, state and local levels.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election as they are every two years, with members of the House serving two-year terms. In the Senate, where members serve six-year terms, 34 of the 100 seats are on the ballot this year.
In state governors’ races, 11 seats are up for grabs. There are also thousands of state and local races, including seats for state lawmakers, mayors and municipal positions.
Apart from these races, many states also have measures, known as referendums, on the ballot that ask voters to decide on a range of issues, from abortion law to tax policy and marijuana use.
When does voting take place?
Each state is different. Nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia offer some version of in-person voting on Election Day, which this year is Nov. 5. Most states also offer mail-in voting, in which voters can return their ballots by mail or to a designated drop-off location. A majority of states also offer early voting, with the earliest states having begun voting in September.
WATCH: Millions who don’t cast ballots on Nov. 5 are still voting in US election
What are the battleground states?
The seven states where the race between Harris and Trump is predicted to be the closest are: Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada. Battleground states can shift over time and are also known as swing states, toss-up states or purple states (the color resulting from a mix of the traditional Democratic color — blue — and the Republican color — red).
WATCH: What makes Nevada a ‘pure battleground’ state
Who can vote in the election?
To vote in the U.S. presidential election, a potential voter must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years old on or before Election Day, and meet residency requirements, which vary from state to state.
Potential voters must also be registered to vote by their state’s voter registration deadline. Some states also restrict voting for those with felony convictions or people who are mentally incapacitated.
Generally, Americans who live abroad can vote by absentee ballot. However, for the general presidential election, U.S. citizens who reside in U.S. territories — including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands and American Samoa — cannot vote.
Who is projected to win?
Polls for the presidential race have been split since the two main candidates were finalized at their party conventions in late summer. However, in the weeks leading up to the election, the polls have tightened even further. Many polls now show the margin between the candidates in all seven battleground states — where the outcome of the vote will likely be determined — to be within the polls’ margins of error.
WATCH: Pennsylvania: The state that could decide it all
How does the Electoral College work?
When U.S. voters cast their ballots for president, they do not vote for their presidential candidate directly. Technically, they choose electors, part of the Electoral College, who then choose the president. The Electoral College is a state-by-state system made up of representatives, or electors, that are allocated based on the voting results in each state.
The framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted a presidential candidate to win a series of regional elections, as opposed to one nationwide vote, so that the president could better represent the diverse interests of the country. In all but two states, all of a state’s electors go to the winning candidate no matter how narrow a popular victory.
There are 538 electors, a number that always stays the same. That number is equal to the total voting membership of the United States Congress — 435 representatives, plus 100 senators, as well as three electors from the District of Columbia. To win the presidency, a candidate must win a majority, or 270, of the electoral votes.
Does the popular vote matter?
The Electoral College winner determines the presidency, not the popular vote. It is possible under the U.S. system for a candidate to become president without winning the popular vote. That is because a candidate’s winning states could be won by small margins while their losing states are lost by bigger margins.
This has happened to five presidents: John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush and Trump in 2016.
Critics of the Electoral College point to these cases to argue that the system does not represent the national will. Supporters of the Electoral College say the system protects small states as well as geographically large states with small populations.
How are the votes counted?
The U.S. does not have a central election committee — each state organizes its own process for counting the ballots. Local and state officials report the election results in real time, and news agencies then use those results, often along with statistical techniques, to project a winner.
News outlets often “call” a winner before every ballot is counted and before officials announce the final results. This is because it usually takes days or weeks before all votes are counted in many districts and often, partial results are enough to mathematically determine a winner. However, when a race is close, news agencies usually wait to call a winner until final results are given.
The first results are not reported until polls have officially closed.
When will the results be known?
In-person voting ends the evening of Nov. 5 with each jurisdiction setting its own time for the closure of polls. Because states have various rules for when ballots can be counted and when mail-in ballots can be accepted, some states will likely not know final results until the day after the election or even later. Close races can also make it difficult for news agencies to call the winner as soon as polls close. As in 2020, when it took several days until they announced the result of the presidential election, it is possible that high-level national races, including the presidency, will not be known until several days after Nov. 5.
How is the election certified?
After votes are tallied, they are certified at the local and state levels. States then issue paperwork identifying the electors who represent the candidate who won the state vote. Electors are typically elected partisans or are appointed by political officials. They meet in their states in December to cast their votes for president and vice president. Then the new Congress, which is seated in January, meets to count the electoral votes and officially announces the winner. The president is sworn into office in an inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20.
