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From voting to results / The US election process and what comes next

2024-11-05 09:43:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Presidential elections are held today in the most important country in the world. American voters will choose today who they will send to the White House, Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? How are the elections conducted and how does the counting work?

Who votes?

About 244 million people aged 18 and over are called to vote. In some US states, anyone convicted of a felony is barred from voting.

Who is chosen?

In addition to the new head of state, new members of Congress will be appointed, both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. A total of 469 seats - 34 out of 100 in the Senate and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election.

How to vote?

You can vote by mail, early voting or by voting at a polling place on Election Day Virginia itself began early voting, which is practiced in 47 states, on September 20.

This was followed by California (October 7), Texas (21) and Florida (26) during October. Voting by mail was possible even earlier in some states, in North Carolina since September 6.

How is the electoral participation expected?

In recent years, the willingness to vote has increased in the US. While in 2016 only 59 percent of those who had the right to vote in the presidential elections went to the ballot box, four years later the figure was 66 percent. It was the highest voter turnout in a national election since 1900, according to the Pew Research Center.

When are the polling stations closed?

Since US elections take place in six different time zones, polling stations open and close at different times. In most states they close between 7am and 8pm.

In states like Indiana and Kentucky, polls can close as early as 6 p.m., while in New York they are open until 9 p.m. When the polls close in Hawaii and Alaska, it's midnight on the US East Coast, and that's where the first forecasts will be released.

What happens after voting closes?

Immediately after polling stations close on election day, votes are counted by members of election commissions in thousands of precincts across the country. If the polling station uses paper ballots, each ballot box is sealed and delivered to a counting station. When digital voting machines are used, election officials send voter data to the counting center.

Rules for processing and counting mail-in ballots vary from state to state. In 16 states and Washington DC, mail-in ballot processing is not allowed until Election Day. In ten states, postal votes can be processed and counted before Election Day, while results are released after the polls close.

How many votes does the president need to win?

In the US, a majority of votes is not enough to automatically win an election. Instead, the next head of state needs a majority in the Electoral College. There are 538 of these electoral votes, 270 are needed for a majority. That's the only number that matters.

Majority voting applies. Even if there is only a narrow majority for a candidate in a state, the winner gets all the electoral votes there. That's why a candidate can get a majority of the popular vote but still lose — like Hillary Clinton in 2016. In terms of absolute votes, she had almost three million more, but Trump had a majority in the Electoral College.

What is the role of "Swing-States" - states undecided on neither Democrats nor Republicans?

They have a decisive role in these elections. Swing states are US states that are neither in the hands of Democrats nor Republicans. The top moving states this year are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and

What happens if no one has the majority?

If it actually happens that the two presidential candidates are tied and each wins 269 Electoral College votes, that is. no one achieves a majority of at least 270 votes, it will be up to the House of Representatives to determine the winner. Each federal state delegation would then have one vote and a majority (26) would be required to win. However, this case has not happened yet.

When is the result published?

In a head-to-head race, it may take some time to announce the final result. If there are discrepancies in some states, they must be resolved by December 11 under the election law.

On December 17, electors will meet in federal state capitals to officially cast their votes for president and vice president. On January 6, 2025, Congress will convene in Washington to count the electoral votes and officially confirm the winner of the election. The ceremonial inauguration of the president takes place in Washington on January 20.