Americans will be heading to the polls next week to decide who will be the next US president, with the vote set to be of the closest watched around the world.
Here is a breakdown of who is running, what their policies are, and how the US presidential election works.
When is the US Presidential election?
The 2024 US election is on Tuesday, 5 November 2024.
Voters will be electing not just the next US President, but Congressional candidates for seats in the US Senate and House of Representatives.
Who are the candidates?
The 2024 US presidential candidates are Vice President Kamala D. Harris for the Democratic Party, and former President Donald J. Trump for the Republican Party.
Harris’ running mate is Tim Waltz, and Trump’s is J.D. Vance.
Kamala D. Harris
Kamala Harris is the current Vice President of the Democratic party for President Joe Biden.
Harris started as a former courtroom prosecutor in 1990, before launching her first political campaign and becoming San Francisco’s District Attorney from 2002-2011.
In 2011, Harris was voted in as the Attorney General of California until 2017, when she was sworn into the U.S. Senate as a Senator.
On January 18th 2021, she resigned her seat and took office as Vice President of the United States in 2021.
Donald J. Trump
Prior to a life in politics, Donald Trump was a successful real estate developer and author in New York City.
On June 16th 2015, Trump announced his candidacy for Presidency, before accepting the Republican nomination in July.
In the 2016 US election Trump defeated democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and was elected as the 45th President of the United States, winning the largest Electoral College vote for a Republican in 28 years.
In 2020, Trump failed to secure a second term in office after a bitter campaign against current President, Joe Biden.
After months of speculation, Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 race on November 15th 2022.
How does the US Presidential election work?
The winner is not who receives the most individual votes, but instead who wins the most states.
Similar to the UK system of ‘seats’ in Parliament held by MPs, the US has 538 electoral college votes up for grabs, and the winning candidate must win 270 or more.
All but two states, Maine and Nebraska, have a winner-takes-all rule so whichever candidate wins the highest number of votes is awarded all of the state’s electoral college votes.
It is possible for a candidate to obtain the most number of individual votes however, and still be defeated by the electoral college – like Hillary Clinton in 2016.
What is the voting process?
Millions of Americans will head to the polls on November 5th to cast their vote, and some citizens have already had their say via postal vote or early voting.
Early voters drop their ballot into what’s called a ‘ballot drop box’, which is usually set on the sidewalk so citizens can simply ‘drop off’ their vote.
The majority of citizens 18 or over are eligible to vote, including US citizens overseas, and votes are counted in each state after polls close.
What else are citizens voting for?
Aside from voting in the next president, citizens are also choosing new members of Congress.
Congress consists of the House of Representatives, made up of 435 seats which are all up for grabs, and the Senate, where 34 seats are being contested.
Two separate parties can be in control during one presidency – the Democrats are currently in control of the Senate, however Republicans are in control of the House.
The Senate votes on key appointments into Government, and the House of Representatives controls the country’s spending plans.
The two chambers can pass laws and act as a check on The White House if the nominated party in either chamber disagrees with the President.
Image credit: Jonathan Simcoe, free to use under Unsplash license.
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