Americans are called to choose on November 5 who will occupy the Presidency for the next four years. The calendar is based on a series of phases that have remained practically unchanged since the time of independence and which stipulates the end of the process for January 20, 2025, when the inauguration will be formalized on the steps of Congress.
NOVEMBER 5
Some 240 million people have the right to vote in these elections, in which, in addition to deciding the Presidency, the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate will be renewed. Citizens do not have to wait until the final day of voting, since they can also exercise their right to vote by mail – in 2020, more than 65 million votes were cast through this system.
The November 5 election is not a coincidence, since by default voting is always held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in leap years. The promoters of this date opted for November to facilitate transportation and avoid the winter months and established an additional condition so that the vote would not coincide with the November 1 holiday.
DECEMBER 17
Technically, American citizens do not directly elect the president on November 5, but the 538 members of the Electoral Council that will end up designating the future tenant of the White House, based on the population of each state –California, the most populous, has 54 representatives–.
To ensure victory, a candidate needs to overcome the threshold of 270 votes in a session that will take place on December 17. In 2016, the then Republican candidate, Donald Trump, achieved the final election despite losing to the Democrat Hillary Clinton in the popular vote thanks to this particular system.
JANUARY 6
The Electoral College result is recorded in a ‘certificate of vote’ and sent to Congress and the National Archives. On January 6, Congress receives these electoral votes, recounts them and certifies them, in a joint session led by Vice President Kamala Harris, as President of the Senate.
In 2021, Trump took advantage of this session to foment protests that ultimately ended up resulting in an assault on the Capitol, amid a standoff between the outgoing president and his ‘number two’, Mike Pence, responsible for leading the symbolic session.
JANUARY 20
On January 20, 2025, eyes will once again be on Congress, but in this case to see how the winner of the November elections becomes the 47th president in the history of the United States. The mandate will officially begin with an oath before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
