Every four years, the United States elects its president, similar to most Western countries’ heads of state election frequency. However, the U.S. has unique aspects in its election process and procedures. Not only can the election cycle last up to two years, making it one of the longest in the world, but the U.S. also has a very distinct Electoral College system established by the U.S. Constitution to prevent “tyranny of the majority.” This article aims to provide an overview of how the U.S. president is elected.
According to information from the official website of the U.S. federal government, presidential candidates in the U.S. must meet three basic constitutional requirements. These three constitutional requirements are: – Be a natural-born U.S. citizen; – Be at least 35 years old; – Have resided in the U.S. for at least 14 years. Anyone meeting these three requirements can announce their candidacy for U.S. President.
Once presidential candidates raise or spend over $5,000 for their campaigns, they must register with and submit financial reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). They need to designate a primary campaign committee responsible for fundraising and spending campaign funds for the candidate.
Presidential elections in the U.S. take place every four years in the fall, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The next presidential election day is November 5, 2024.
The presidential election process typically follows a standard cycle: In the spring of the year preceding the election: Candidates register with the Federal Election Commission, officially declaring their candidacy for President and announcing their campaign intentions to the public. Although there are no clear federal registration start and end dates, candidates typically register during this period, with some registering earlier or later.
President Biden officially announced his re-election campaign in April 2023. Former President Trump formally announced his participation in the 2024 presidential election in November 2022.
From summer of the preceding year to spring of the election year: Primary elections and party conventions debates are held.
From January to June of the election year: States and parties hold presidential primaries and caucuses.
From July to early September of the election year: Parties hold national conventions to formally nominate presidential candidates. Before or during the nominating convention, presidential candidates announce their vice presidential running mates.
September and October of the election year: Candidates participate in presidential debates.
Early November of the election year: Election day falls on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
December of the election year: Electors vote for the President in the Electoral College in each state.
Early January of the next calendar year: Congress counts the electoral votes, finally certifying the elected President.
January 20: Inauguration day for the new President.
Primary and caucus elections are two ways Americans help states and parties select presidential candidates.
Most states hold primary elections within 6 to 9 months of the presidential election. Primary voters anonymously choose their preferred candidate. States consider the results to award delegates to the winners.
Delegates officially cast “delegate votes” at their respective party’s national convention to nominate the party’s presidential candidate.
Some states hold caucuses several months before the presidential election. Caucuses are party meetings held at the county, district, or precinct levels. Some caucuses use anonymous voting, while others require attendees to group themselves based on the candidates they support.
Each candidate’s supporter group will then make speeches and try to persuade others to join their group. The number of “delegate votes” allocated to each candidate depends on the number of caucus votes their supporter groups receive.
Differences between open, closed, or mixed primary and caucus systems can impact voter inclusivity and party involvement.
During fully “open” primaries or caucuses, all registered voters can participate regardless of party affiliation.
During fully “closed” primaries or caucuses, only registered party members can participate.
Each state has its own rules for presidential primaries and caucuses. A fully “open” process can yield more unpredictable results, making it harder to predict outcomes.
Allocation of delegate votes to candidates based on primary and caucus results follows complex rules set by national and state party regulations.
States and parties then select their delegates. Delegates are typically party activists, leaders, or early supporters of a candidate.
Once elected, delegates represent their state at the national party convention where they formally cast delegate votes to select the party’s presidential nominee.
National party conventions confirm or elect their presidential and vice presidential nominees. Delegates are from primary elections and caucuses in each state.
To become the party’s nominee, candidates usually need to win support from over half of the party’s delegates across all states.
If no candidate secures over half of the party’s delegate support during primaries and caucuses, additional rounds of voting may take place at the national convention.
At the convention, presidential nominees officially announce their running mate for vice president.
Delegates at national conventions fall into two types: Committed or pledged delegates, who must support the candidate allocated to them by the primary or caucus process. Uncommitted or unpledged delegates (also known as “superdelegates”) can support any presidential candidate they choose.
For the Democratic National Convention, superdelegates are “Party Leaders and Elected Officials” (PLEOs) such as former Presidents, Vice Presidents, Congressional leaders, Governors, and Members of Congress, who automatically become convention delegates. They make up slightly less than 15% of all convention delegates.
At the Republican National Convention, each state, territory, and Washington DC can have three party leaders automatically become superdelegates, pledging to vote based on the state’s presidential primary results in the first-round vote.
In the 2024 Republican National Convention, an estimated total of 2,429 delegates will participate, with 2,325 being committed delegates and 104 superdelegates. Winning the Republican presidential nomination requires the support of over half the delegates, i.e. 1,215 delegate votes.
At the 2024 Democratic National Convention, an estimated total of 4,696 delegates will participate, with 3,949 being committed delegates and 747 superdelegates. To win the Democratic presidential nomination, a candidate needs the majority support of committed delegates in the first round of voting, requiring 1,975 delegate votes.
Usually, before the party’s national convention convenes, a presidential candidate secures sufficient majority delegate support, making the convention’s voting symbolic and procedural.
In very rare cases where no candidate secures enough threshold votes before the convention, it is considered a “contested” convention, requiring delegates to select a presidential nominee through additional voting rounds.
During the first round of voting at a “contested” party convention, committed delegates generally must vote for their allocated candidate, while superdelegates can vote for any candidate. However, Democratic superdelegates cannot cast votes in the first round to reduce their influence.
In the rare case that no candidate wins in the first round of voting at a “contested” convention, both committed delegates and superdelegates can choose any candidate in subsequent rounds.
Voting continues until a candidate secures the required majority vote.
Within the Republican Party, former President Trump led significantly in the primaries, capturing the party’s support. He officially became the Republican presidential nominee at the party’s national convention in Wisconsin on July 15.
For the Democratic Party, President Biden similarly overwhelmingly captured victory in the primaries but announced on July 21 that he would not seek reelection, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the presidential candidate.
Harris, not having gone through the primaries, was designated as the presumptive presidential nominee through a virtual roll-call vote held by the Democratic National Committee on August 2. Then, at the 2024 Democratic National Convention held in Chicago on August 19, Harris officially became the Democratic presidential nominee.
Trump announced Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate on July 15. Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate on August 6.
The Democratic Party leans more liberal, advocating for broad voting rights, comprehensive healthcare, abortion rights, strict gun control, protection of illegal immigrants, and climate change initiatives.
The Republican Party leans more conservative, advocating for lower taxes, smaller government, gun rights support, anti-illegal immigration stances, border security enhancement, and allowing states to determine abortion rights independently.
In principle, most American citizens aged 18 and older are eligible to vote in the presidential election.
Each state in the U.S. has its own election laws. All states except North Dakota require voter registration before voting, each with its registration procedures and deadlines.
U.S. citizens residing overseas can register to vote and request absentee ballots by filling out and mailing the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).
Every four years, U.S. citizens cast their votes during the general election to select the next President and Vice President.
The names of the presidential and vice presidential nominees of the two major parties are listed on election ballots in each state. Names of third-party and independent candidates may also appear on some state ballots based on compliance.
In the general election, registered voters can vote for any presidential candidate regardless of their party registration or past voting history. Even if they did not vote in the state primaries, they can vote in the general election.
Most voters cast ballots on election day, but depending on state regulations, they may also choose to vote via mail-in ballots, absentee ballots, or in-person early voting before the election day.
Voters also elect their state’s new congressional representatives when filling out their ballots. Congress consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, with all 435 seats of the House up for reelection, while one-third of the Senate (34 seats in 2024) requires reelection this year.
Apart from the President and Vice President, all other political candidates are directly elected through popular vote, where the candidate with the most votes wins.
After the nationwide popular vote across all 50 states, territories, and Washington, DC, the final winning presidential and vice presidential candidates are chosen through the Electoral College process, where each state’s electors vote to determine who will become the U.S. President and Vice President. This is the unique aspect of the U.S. presidential election compared to other countries’ head of state elections.
The number of “electors” in each state is equal to the number of congressional members (House of Representatives and Senators) the state has. This, along with 3 electors from Washington, DC, totals the current 538 electors in the U.S. election.
Each state’s party selects its potential list of electors. States have their laws governing how and when electors are selected.
A presidential candidate needs to win at least 270 electoral votes (majority of all electoral votes) to win the presidential election. This means 270 votes represent the “threshold votes” to win the presidency.
After voters cast their presidential votes in their respective states, their ballots undergo statewide tabulation. In 48 states and DC, the “winner-takes-all” approach means the popular vote winner receives all of the state’s electoral votes. Maine and Nebraska divide their electoral votes based on the proportion of the popular vote.
In most cases, the expected presidential winner is announced after the initial vote count on election night in November. However, if there is an abundance of mail-in ballots, it may take additional days to receive and tally all votes. The actual meetings of the Electoral College to cast votes happen in mid-December when electors convene in their respective states.
In early January of the following year, with the new Congress in office, each state’s Electoral College votes are tallied and confirmed, ultimately certifying the elected President.
Electing the President through the Electoral College process is a constitutional provision in the U.S., designed as a compromise between popular voting and congressional voting, aiming to prevent “tyranny of the majority” and serving as a check against “mob rule.” The U.S. system is actually a republican form of government, not a pure democracy.
While the constitution does not require electors to vote for the popular vote winner in their state, some states have such mandates. Electors who vote for candidates other than those they are pledged to can face fines, removal of eligibility, or substitution by alternative electors. Rogue electors could even face prosecution by the states where they vote.
A presidential candidate could potentially win the most national popular votes but be defeated in the Electoral College vote. This has occurred five times in U.S. history: in 2016, 2000, and three times in the 19th century.
In the 2016 election, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s significant lead in the popular vote over then-Republican presidential candidate Trump mainly came from California. This illustrates how the Electoral College vote system prevents populous states from becoming the “national dominator.”
In the event that no presidential candidate obtains a majority of electoral votes, the final decision is left to the House of Representatives.
This has occurred twice in U.S. history. First, after the 1800 presidential election, the House elected Thomas Jefferson as President. Second, following the 1824 presidential election, the House elected John Quincy Adams as President.
Most states in the U.S. heavily lean towards either the Democratic or Republican parties, leading to the election focus on a dozen or so swing states, also known as “battleground states,” where election outcomes are unpredictable, thereby influencing the final election results.
Except for a re-elected incumbent President, the incumbent President must hand over power to the newly elected President, known as the “transition of government” period. This gives the President-elect time to appoint Cabinet members for their new government and plan for their upcoming term.
Then, on January 20 of the calendar year following the election year, the President-elect and Vice President-elect are inaugurated and hold an inaugural ceremony. If January 20 falls on a Sunday, Inauguration Day is moved to January 21. The inauguration of the next President is scheduled for January 20, 2025 (Monday).
Inauguration ceremonies are traditionally held in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
The Vice President-elect takes the oath of office first and repeats the same oath taken since 1884 by Senators, Representatives, and other federal employees: “At noon, the President-elect recites the following oath as stipulated in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution:”
Inaugural activities are organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), including the swearing-in ceremony, an inaugural address, etc.
The JCCIC may provide a limited number of inaugural ceremony tickets to the public through members of Congress. Tickets are free. If you wish to witness the new President and Vice President’s inauguration at the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025, you can apply for tickets through your congressional representative in the weeks leading up to the inauguration ceremony.