US presidential election will be held today: how it will be held and when results will be known

Today, November 5, the presidential election will be held in the USA, where the main candidates are the current vice president, 60-year-old Democrat Kamala Harris, and the ex-president of the USA, 78-year-old Republican Donald Trump.

Ukrainian News Agency will tell how the election in the USA will be held and when the results will be known.

How the US presidential election is held

Presidential election in the United States of America is held every 4 years on the first Tuesday after November 1. At the same time, on the same date, the Congress is renewed - elections to both chambers are held.

The election process itself takes place through the Electoral College of which there are a total of 538 from 50 states. In each state, their number corresponds to the population. In particular, the most populous California has 54 voters, Texas - 40, New York - 28, Arizona - 11, Maine - 3.

In most states (except Maine and Nebraska), electors cast their votes for the candidate for whom the majority of the state's population cast their vote. To win the presidential election, it is necessary to receive at least 270 of the 538 votes of the Electoral College.

What are "swing states"

So-called "swing states" have the greatest impact on election results, as all others have a predictable outcome due to the sequence of electing candidates from the Democratic ("blue") or Republican ("red") parties.

Decisive battles between Trump and Harris are predicted in seven states - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Candidates

The United States has a two-party system consisting of the Democratic and Republican parties, whose candidates have won presidential elections since 1852. However, these are not the only parties existing in the USA, in particular, the main third parties are the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and the Constitutional Party.

The candidates for the presidency of the United States this year are:

• Democratic Party: Incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris (age 60), former senator, California attorney general and San Francisco prosecutor, who is vying to become the first woman and the first black woman elected president of the United States.
• Republican Party: ex-president of the USA Donald Trump (age 78), businessman, the first president to be impeached twice and found guilty of a crime.
• Libertarian Party: Chase Oliver (age 39), a little-known candidate, ran for the Georgia state senate in 2022 and won 2% of the vote; his party usually gets 3% or less of the vote nationally, but its members can play a decisive role in swing states.
• Green Party: Jill Stein (age 74), who ran for president in 2016; her current campaign began by accusing Democrats of repeatedly reneging on their promises "to workers, young people, and the climate - while Republicans aren't even making those promises."
• Independent candidate: political activist, philosopher and scientist Cornel West (age 71), is making efforts to attract more progressive, democratically minded voters.

Voting

Millions of Americans have already cast their ballots early by mail or in person. All states except Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire allow voting in person at the polls until Election Day. According to Axios, more than 75 million Americans have already cast their ballots early.

All others go to the polling stations on the day of the presidential election, that is, today, November 5. Precincts in different states open at different times. According to the BBC, the first polling stations will close on November 6 at 01:00 Kyiv time, and the last - on November 6 at 08:00.

When the results will be known

Normally, after the polls close, the votes cast on Election Day are counted first, followed by early and mail-in votes, those that have been contested, and then overseas and military votes.

The media predicts the winner already on election night based on an analysis of the votes already counted, the number of votes remaining and the gap between the candidates. However, these data are not official.

Ballot counting is completed within a few days of the election and the results are sent to officials who certify the results and send them to federal officials. Each state has until December 11 to name electors who must gather in their state capitals to cast their votes for president and vice president on December 17.

And only on January 6, the House of Representatives and the Senate will count the voting results at a joint meeting. The Vice President performs the duties of the President of the Senate and formally presides over the reception and counting of the votes of the electors and the announcement of the results. In this case, Harris will announce her own victory or defeat.

When will the inauguration of the president take place

The inauguration of the President of the USA will take place on January 20, 2025 on the territory of the US Capitol. And this year will be the 60th presidential inauguration in US history. The newly elected president will take an oath, promising to adhere to the Constitution, and then deliver the inaugural address.