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 2024 electoral map, based on the 2020 census | |||||||||||||||||
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34 of the 100 seats in the Senate 50 or 51 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||
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All 435 seats in the House of Representatives 218 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||
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The 2024 United States general election will be held on November 5, 2024. The Presidential election and Federal Congressional election (U.S. Senate election and U.S. House election), will be held concurrently at the Federal level, along with various state, county, and local general elections held at the same time.
Elections are held every year depending on the location and the term of any given office; most notably the President and Vice President are elected to lead the Federal Government every four years, serving a maximum of two consecutive 4-year terms; members of the House are elected bi-annually. Members of the Senate are elected every 6 years in different classes; this means every 2 years elections to the Senate in some states are held, but never in all states, so not all seats will be up for election.
In the United States, elections are overseen by each state, so each state will manage their elections for all offices (including federal ones such as the President) on their own terms. The Constitution however does outline basic requirements for the election process, which includes the electoral college system.
Presidential election edit
Background and election process edit
The President (POTUS) and Vice President (VP) of the United States are constitutional offices, the powers and abilities of which are outlined in Article Two of the United States Constitution. According to the Constitution, the President and Vice President (the running mate of the President-elect during the election) is elected every four years. Conducting elections is determined by the Constitution, federal law, federal regulations, as well as state laws.
For more on the particular issues affecting this campaign please see the "Campaign issues" section of a different article.
Qualifications and eligibility edit
The qualifications to become the President of the United States are outlined in the Constitution. The process of selecting a running mate has evolved with time. More on both of this in a bit.
Rules edit
The United States is a country governed by law, found in the Constitution, the federal Code, and federal regulations. Every state also has their own election laws. More on why this is in a bit. Campaign finance law has been a controversial issue in the US for a long time.
Political parties edit
The two contemporary political parties in the United States have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, which emerged as the dominant political factions after the Civil War. The country and these parties have gone through centuries of changes. Although political parties are not mentioned in Article Two or other parts of the Constitution, they have become an integral part of the selection process of candidates running for the highest office in the country. Party primaries as known in their current have historically been held by either party in one way or another since around the 1970s. Each party determines it's own rules for how to select a candidate, must all primary candidates must conform to the basic eligibility requirements in the Constitution, as well as Federal and State election laws. More on this later. Party conventions are a much less recent concept, and have been around since 1831, when Henry Clay was nominated by the National-Republican Party in the Baltimore Convention. They typically take place in the summer when all the primaries have concluded. Parties have historically used these conventions to officially select and nominate their candidate, although they've become more of a formality in recent years. This is also where the party may nominate it's candidate for Vice President, as the running mate of their Presidential hopeful; the candidate for president usually chooses their running mate on their own terms and the party typically accepts it. Conventions can be the scene of political tension and internal disputes. In any case, party conventions are the last step before a general election campaign can 'officially' kick off before November.
Campaign process edit
Campaigns feature speeches, rallies, tours, fundraising and other activities used to sway voters. Advertisements on tv, the paper, the internet, billboards are very common around the summer and autumn months. Candidates usually agree to debates, typically hosted by the bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates. This organization is not affiliated with the Federal Election Commission, and is a non-government organization that is sponsored by both parties. Because of this third party candidates have been excluded.
Voting and the Electoral College edit
Presidential elections in the United States can be confusing and feature various differences from most developed countries, whether it be in the G7, NATO, EU, the OAS or African Union. Many countries in these organizations and military alliances with a presidential republican system of government feature direct voting, by which the President (and possibly their deputy/lieutenant/vice president) is elected by a majority/plurality of the popular vote. Almost all elections, to some degree, in the United States are similar: most Federal, State, Country, and local offices are determined by the popular vote alone, albeit with potential slight variation in how voting is conducted (i.e. Plurality voting, Ranked Choice Voting, runoffs, open primaries, jungle primaries, no primaries, etc.) However the basic principle of the winner receiving either a plurality of majority of votes counted is nearly universal in the United States. This is not the case for the POTUS and the VP.
An electoral college is used in lieu of direct popular vote in determining the election. The electoral college (not a real university just a name), is required to “meet” every four years in December for the sole purpose of electing the POTUS and the VP. The process from election day (November 5, 2024) to inauguration day (January 2025) is somewhat complicated and differs from state to state, although there are universal requirements outlined in the Constitution.
When the founding documents were being written and subsequently justified in The Federalist Papers in the late 18th century, this system made sense. In fact it was relatively revolutionary to have a head of government also be the head of state, and for that individual to be elected (directly or indirectly) at the time. Most of the population was illiterate, transportation was at worst walking and at best riding a boat, and information traveled much slower.
Eligible American voters cast their ballots for their preferred slate of electors on the first Tuesday (after a Monday) of November. The 1848 election of Whig Zachary Taylor was the first election to be held on the first Tuesday of the month (November 7, 1848). This particular date was mandated by a law passed to Titles 2 and 3 of the United States Federal Code by the 29th Congress in 1845. Early and mail-in voting is still allowed by some states.
Some states award all of their electors to the winner of their popular vote, but some like Nebraska award them based on their House districts. The Electoral Count Act, passed in 1887 (one year before the 1888 election) created new Constitutional procedures that requires the United States Congress to count the electoral votes. The last time this was in affect was during the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count, held on 6 and 7 January, 2021. Since then, parts of it was amended by the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, passed in 2022. The amendments were added to prevent delays in a presidential transition, a historically peaceful process until January 6, 2021.
Past discrepancies and disputes edit
It is possible for the winner of the presidential election’s majority of electoral votes to simultaneously not win the popular vote. This has happened on five occasions.
- 1824 (Jackson won a plurality 43%, but John Quincy Adams won the most votes in a contingent election in the House; more on that below)
- 1876 (Tilden won 50.9% of the vote, but Hayes won 185 electoral votes after the Electoral Commission met)
- 1888 (Cleveland won a plurality of 48% but Harrison won 233 electoral votes)
- 2000 (Gore won a plurality of 48% but Bush won 271 electoral votes; more on that below)
- 2016 (Clinton won a plurality of 48% but Trump won 304 electoral votes)
In January 1877, after the disputed 1876 election was held, the 44th United States Congress created a temporary body simply called the Electoral Commission.
The 2000 election was arguably decided in the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore.
"Doomsday" scenarios edit
It is mathematically possible for no one candidate to receive a majority of electoral votes. In this case a “contingent election” must be held in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House elects the President as state delegations, while the Senate elects the Vice President. This has occurred on three occasions, twice for the President and once for the Vice President.
- 1800/1801 (President)
- 1824/1825 (President)
- 1836/1837 (Vice President)
Inauguration edit
Under the original terms of the Constitution, the President and Vice President were to be inaugurated on 4 March. George Washington’s first inauguration in 1789 was delayed until 30 April due to a harsh winter. All inaugurations from 1793 (Washington, 2nd term) to 1933 (FDR, 1st term) were held on either 4 March or 5 March (they were never held on Sundays). This changed when the 20th Amendment was ratified on 23 January 1933, which changed all Inauguration Days from 4 March to 20 January. FDR became the first President to be inaugurated on 20 January in 1937, after winning a second term.
The Inauguration is an inherently ceremonial process and is done primarily for the public. Even if the President is not fully inaugurated by the Chief Justice, the 20th Amendment still requires the President-elect to become the President at noon on 20 January, which is when the previous President’s term expires. If the 20th falls on a Sunday, or if a mistake is made during the swearing-in ceremony (such as during the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama), a private ceremony may be held the following day.
Party nominations edit
Political parties nominate candidates for the presidency, and these candidates (and their running mates) appear on state-issued ballots under their respective parties. 'Third parties' require ballot access to get their candidates on all the state ballots, an uphill battle considering state election laws that benefit the two party parties. The most recent strong party showing was in 1992, with Ross Perot and his Reform Party; they did not receive any electoral votes.
Democratic Party edit
The Democratic Party will presumably nominate Joe Biden, the incumbent POTUS, along with his running mate VP Kamala Harris, as he has secured a majority of state delegates from the primaries to support his nomination at the August 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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|---|---|
| Joe Biden | Kamala Harris |
| for President | for Vice President |
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| 46th President of the United States (2021–present) |
49th Vice President of the United States (2021–present) |
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Republican Party edit
The Republican Party will presumably nominate Donald Trump, the former 45th POTUS, as he has secured a majority of state delegates from the primaries to support his nomination at the July 2024 Republican National Convention in Wisconsin. He has yet to announce his running mate, but he must have one before the election.
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|---|---|
| Donald Trump | TBA |
| for President | for Vice President |
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| 45th President of the United States (2017–2021) |
TBA |
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