On Tuesday, Americans will cast their votes in the presidential election, following a close race between Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and former President Donald Trump, a Republican.
How America votes?
The US president is elected through a system called the Electoral College, a unique process established by the Constitution. When Americans vote in a presidential election, they are actually casting votes for a group of electors pledged to a specific candidate. Each state has a set number of electors based on its representation in Congress (the sum of its Senators and Representatives), totalling 538 electors nationwide. To win, a candidate must secure a majority of 270 electoral votes. After Election Day, the electors meet in December in their respective states to officially cast their votes for president and vice president. These votes are then sent to Congress, where they are counted in early January. The candidate who receives the majority of the electoral votes becomes the next president, with the formal swearing-in occurring on Inauguration Day, January 20.
Voting process
In the US, voting can be done in several ways, primarily through in-person voting at designated polling stations or by mail. On Election Day, voters go to their assigned polling location, where they present identification (if required by state law) and are given a ballot to mark their choices. Many states also allow early voting, where individuals can cast their ballots in person during a set period before Election Day. Mail-in voting is an option in all states, with some requiring a reason for absentee ballots, while others offer mail-in voting to all voters. Once ballots are cast—whether in person or by mail—they are collected, verified, and counted by election officials.
Timeline
Below is a timeline of significant events from Election Day through Inauguration Day in January 2025.
- November 5: Election Day
Polling in the United States will open on November 5, with start times varying between 7 am and 9 am local time, depending on the state. Due to the country’s multiple time zones, this translates to between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm in India. Most polling locations will close between 7 pm and 11 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 5, which corresponds to 5.30 am to 9.30 am in India on November 6. Polls in key battleground states—Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin—are also set to close within this timeframe, between 7 pm and 11 pm EST.
- Late November: Results announcement
The election result may take several days to finalize, especially if the race is tight and mail-in ballots play a significant role.
- November 26: Trump sentencing
Donald Trump, the first sitting or former US president convicted of a crime, faces sentencing in a Manhattan case involving falsified records related to hush money payments. Originally scheduled for Sept. 18, sentencing was rescheduled to November 26. Trump denies any wrongdoing.
- December 11: Elector Certification deadline
By this date, all states must submit certified slates of presidential electors to the US Archivist. This requirement, part of a 2022 federal law, aims to prevent election chaos like that seen after Trump's attempts to challenge his 2020 defeat. However, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin did not adopt these reforms, leaving 29 crucial Electoral College votes at risk of partisan disputes that could delay certification.
- December 17: Electoral College voting
Presidential electors meet in their states and the District of Columbia to formally vote for the president and vice president.
- December 25: Delivery of Electoral Votes
Electoral votes must be received by this date by the president of the Senate—currently Harris—and the Archivist of the United States.
2025
- January 6: Electoral College Vote count
The vice president presides over the joint session of Congress to officially count the Electoral College votes, announce the results, and declare the election winner. Reforms enacted after the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, now require that at least one-fifth of both the House and Senate support any challenge to a state’s electoral results—a significant increase from previous requirements.
- January 20: Inauguration day
The president-elect and vice president-elect will be sworn into office at noon ET (1700 GMT), marking the formal start of their terms.