Contrary to popular belief, it took more than two months for the 47th President of the United States to take office after winning the election.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, and whichever candidate wins 270 electoral votes or more will become the 47th President of the United States.
Results may be announced on election day, several days later, or even several weeks later due to the complexity of vote counting in the United States.
In the 2020 election, TV channels did not announce the results until four days later.
After state election officials certify the votes, electors will meet in each state and certify their votes. They will send the results to Congress on December 17, more than a month after the election.
After the electors meet in each state and submit their formal certifications, members of Congress will meet at the Capitol in Washington to certify the results on January 6, 2025.
The inauguration day of the new President of the United States is January 20, 2025.
The President of the United States is not elected by popular vote, but by a majority of electors, in a system called the Electoral College.
The Electoral College system originated in the US Constitution in 1787, which established rules for indirect, single-round presidential elections.
Most electors are local elected officials or party leaders, but their names do not appear on ballots, and their identities are largely unknown to voters.
The Constitution leaves it up to states to decide how their electors will vote. In theory, in most states, except Nebraska and Maine, the candidate who wins the popular vote also wins all of that state's electoral votes.
The Electoral College allows a presidential candidate to lose the popular vote but still win the election. Five US presidents have won in such situations, including Donald Trump in 2016.
When a presidential candidate wins a state, this means that the electors of the winning political party in that state are obligated to vote for that candidate as president.
If some states require electors to respect the popular vote, but they don't, they are called "faithless electors" and will be subject to a fine if they don't vote for the popular vote winner.
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