Election Day has finally arrived. After months of intense campaigning, Americans will choose their next president today, following incumbent Joe Biden's unexpected mid-campaign withdrawal from the race.
Here's everything you need to know about this pivotal election.
How the Electoral College Works
Unlike many democracies, the U.S. doesn't elect its president through a direct popular vote. Instead, voters participate in an indirect system known as the Electoral College. Each state is allocated electoral votes roughly proportional to its population, with a total of 538 electors nationwide. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
For example, California commands 54 electoral votes, while Delaware has just three. Washington D.C., though not a state, receives three electoral votes. In most states, it's winner-takes-all – whoever wins the popular vote receives all of that state's electoral votes. Maine and Nebraska are the only exceptions, using a district-based system to split their electoral votes.
This system means a candidate can win the presidency without the popular vote, as happened most recently in 2016 when Donald Trump secured 306 electoral votes despite receiving roughly 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton. Similar scenarios occurred in 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000.
Following the 2020 census, the electoral map has shifted slightly, generally favoring Republicans. Democratic strongholds like California, New York, and Illinois lost electoral votes, while Republican-leaning states gained them – Texas increased from 38 to 40 votes, and Florida from 27 to 28.
Battleground States
While some states are reliable party strongholds – Democrats can count on California's 54 votes and New York's 28, while Republicans regularly secure Texas's 40 – the election typically hinges on a handful of swing states. Florida, once the quintessential battleground state, has increasingly trended Republican, with Trump winning it in the last two elections.
This year's key battlegrounds include:
- Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes)
- Georgia (16)
- North Carolina (16)
- Michigan (15)
- Arizona (11)
- Wisconsin (10)
- Nevada (6)
When to Expect Results
Polls begin closing on the East Coast at 7 PM ET, with western states following later. Here's when polls close in key battlegrounds (all times Eastern):
- Georgia: 7 PM
- North Carolina: 7:30 PM
- Pennsylvania and Michigan: 8 PM
- Wisconsin and Arizona: 9 PM
- Nevada: 10 PM
While election results once came in quickly, recent shifts toward mail-in voting may delay the final tally. Many states now accept ballots postmarked by Election Day but received later, requiring additional counting time. The closeness of the race could also factor into timing – a decisive victory might be clear by tomorrow, while a tight margin could trigger recounts and legal challenges, particularly if any candidate prematurely declares victory before all votes are counted.
The nation's eyes remain fixed on key swing states, where the margins could determine not just the winner, but how quickly we'll know who will take the oath of office on January 20th.
