The US presidential election still lasts two days. From November 5, around 244 million voters (24.4 crore) will cast their votes to elect the new president. This time the contest is between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is vying for the vice presidential position alongside Kamala Harris. Therefore, JD Vance is laying claim to the vice presidential chair alongside Donald Trump. Let’s take a look at the full US presidential election schedule…

November 5th
Starting November 5, American voters will cast their ballot for president. The voting process will take approximately 20 days.

November 25th
November 25 is the last day to accept mail-in ballots in 17 states.

December 17th
The voters will go to their respective states and to Washington DC. We will meet in and so we can choose the President and Vice President.

December 25th
Electoral votes must be received by the President of the Senate (currently Vice President Kamala Harris) and the Archivist by December 25th.

January 6, 2025
The Vice President presides over the counting of the Electoral College votes in a joint session of Congress and announces the results.

Why can it take several days to get results?
Although the US presidential election will begin on November 5th and vote counting will begin on the same day, it may take several days for the final results to be available. US voters will not know the final result until Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris or Republican candidate Donald Trump achieve significant victories in most states, especially in the so-called swing states. Unless there is a large margin of victory, a recount could take days or even weeks to resolve the disputed results.

This time there is a possibility of controversy because Donald Trump is in the fray again. Trump has not accepted President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and his defeat even after four years. If Trump loses, he will almost certainly face litigation, and possibly Harris too, since the winner could be determined by a few hundred votes or so. Both have an army of lawyers standing by.

How does the voting process work?
In America, voters do not directly elect the president. The president is elected by 538 electoral colleges. To win, a candidate must win a majority — 270 or more electoral college votes. Therefore, a candidate may receive a majority of votes but still lose if he or she is unable to convert them into an Electoral College majority. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won nearly 3 million more votes than Trump, but lost the election as Trump exceeded the majority threshold with 306 Electoral College votes. The final decision will be made in the seven states where no party has a clear majority and elections there can go either way. These states have a combined total of 93 electoral votes.

January 20, 2025
The swearing-in ceremony of the new President and Vice President of America will take place on January 20th.

Keywords: Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Special project, US President, US presidential election 2024