A simple guide to the US election 2024 | US Election 2024 News

Election Day in the United States is lower than per week away, so right here’s what you want to find out about how the 2024 presidential vote works.

Who can vote?

In the US, residents should meet some very fundamental eligibility standards so as to vote. They have to be:

• A US citizen
• A resident of the state the place they registered to vote
• 18 years or older

Voter eligibility can differ from state to state, significantly when it comes to felony convictions. For instance, people who’ve a felony report might face restrictions in sure states, together with dropping the proper to vote completely.

There are roughly 160 million registered voters, however not all of them will vote. In the 2020 election, the turnout was round 66 %, the highest it has been for greater than a century.

Republican candidate Donald Trump, left, and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris [File: Eduardo Munoz, Nathan Howard/Reuters]

How does the US election work?

US politics is dominated by two events, the broadly centre-left and liberal Democrats and the right-wing and conservative Republicans; potential candidates emerge from both social gathering to vie for the presidential nomination. To pick out their nominee, the Democrats and Republicans maintain major elections or caucuses in every state, which culminates in the victor accepting the nomination at both the Republican or Democratic Nationwide Conventions. This cycle now pits Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in opposition to former Republican President Donald Trump.

US President Joe Biden had initially sought re-election to a second time period, however he dropped out in July after a disastrous debate efficiency raised questions on his potential to govern for an additional 4 years.

There are additionally third-party or impartial candidates, akin to the Inexperienced Celebration’s Jill Stein, the Libertarian Celebration’s Chase Oliver, and the anti-war educational, Cornel West.

In the elections section, presidential candidates appoint their very own operating mates — on this case, Democrat and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance — who will turn out to be vp if the nominee’s candidacy is profitable. Voters then solid their ballots for a president and vp, and the results of this vote is then channeled by the Electoral Faculty.

Since 1845, US elections have been held on the first Tuesday of November. Nonetheless, voters even have the possibility of voting early in most states, and greater than 52 million votes have already been solid.

Voters depart an election centre throughout major voting, Tuesday, Could 21, 2024, in Kennesaw, Georgia [File: Mike Stewart/AP Photo]

How does the Electoral Faculty work?

To grasp how US elections work, and the way voters select their subsequent chief, one should perceive the US Electoral Faculty.

In contrast to members of the US Congress, who’re instantly chosen by voters, the US president just isn’t elected by a direct nationwide vote. As a substitute, when Individuals solid their ballots, they’re deciding on a slate of “electors” from their state who pledge to vote for particular presidential and vice-presidential candidates, primarily based on the votes solid in the state for every candidate. As soon as votes are counted and licensed, these electors formally solid their votes. The infographic under outlines this course of.

(Al Jazeera)

Need to know extra about the Electoral Faculty? Watch the quick explainer video under, or learn this temporary overview.

What number of electoral votes does it take to win the election?

It takes 270 electoral votes to win a US presidential election, which is a majority of the 538 complete electoral votes out there.

This technique can create shocking outcomes: a candidate can win the well-liked vote throughout the nation but lose the Electoral Faculty, which has occurred 5 instances in US historical past. The newest occasion was in 2016, when Trump received the presidency over Hillary Clinton regardless of trailing by practically three million votes nationwide.

(Al Jazeera)

What are the polls saying?

As Election Day approaches, Harris and Trump are neck and neck, fiercely competing for management of key swing states. We’re carefully watching undecided voters in these states, who may in truth swing the race in both route.

Harris holds a slim 1.5-point lead nationally, in accordance to FiveThirtyEight’s ballot tracker, although Trump has practically closed the hole. A Reuters/Ipsos ballot locations Harris forward by only one level, inside the margin of error.

A display displaying the US presidential debate between Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris at The Admiral bar and restaurant in Washington, DC, on September 10, 2024 [File: Allison Bailey/AFP]

Trump leads on financial and immigration points, whereas Harris has a diminishing benefit on political extremism.

Swing states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona present razor-thin margins. Though nationwide polls favour Harris, the Electoral Faculty final result stays unsure, echoing previous election unpredictability.

When will we all know who received? When will the outcomes be introduced?

That’s up in the air. It’s extremely unlikely {that a} winner will probably be decided on election night time. Nonetheless, it’s not out of the query. Traditionally, a winner could be introduced on the night time of or morning after the election.

As polls shut throughout the nation on Election Day, the media will report real-time outcomes, with outcomes coming in from the Jap Time Zone first. Ultimate tallies will not be out there instantly, significantly with the elevated quantity of mail-in and absentee ballots. In some circumstances, states have legal guidelines permitting ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted even when they arrive later. This course of can lead to delays in sure states, significantly these with slim margins.

These delays could possibly be seized upon by Trump to unfold the narrative that the election has been stolen, as he falsely tried to do in 2020. In that election, lots of the votes that arrived or have been counted late have been for the Democrats, usually as a result of the social gathering has extra assist in cities the place vote counting takes longer, and since Trump discouraged his supporters from utilizing mail-in ballots.

If no candidate wins 270 electoral votes, a contingent election happens. The Home elects the president, with every state casting one vote, and the Senate elects the vp. A Home candidate wants a majority (26 states) to win. This uncommon course of final occurred in 1824 when John Quincy Adams was elected by the Home of Representatives after Andrew Jackson received the well-liked and electoral votes however fell in need of a majority.

The White Home in Washington, DC, the dwelling of the US president and the image of presidential energy [File: Zach Gibson/EPA-EFE]

What are the key dates to watch?

• Election Day: November 5 – Most Individuals vote in particular person or by mail.
• Certification deadlines: November 6 – December 11 – States certify election outcomes inside this timeframe.
• Electoral Faculty vote: December 17 – Electors meet to solid their official votes.
• Congress counts electoral votes: January 6, 2025 – Congress convenes to rely and ensure electoral votes.
• Inauguration Day: January 20, 2025 – The president-elect is sworn in, marking the transition of energy.