Trump vs. Harris. There is a presidential election in the US

Turnout is still unclear, but in 2020, 66% of eligible Americans went to the polls, the highest turnout since 1900.

However, in US presidential elections, the candidate who received the most votes nationally does not always win, as the victory goes to the candidate for the keys to the White House. won the majority in the electoral college, which consists of representatives of 538 states.

Therefore, to win the election, a candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes.

The number of electoral seats is divided by state according to the population of each state and according to the number of representatives from the state in Congress.

In most states, the electoral votes are distributed on a winner-take-all basis, that is, all the electoral votes in the individual state go to the candidate for whom the number voted largest number of voters in that state.

The order is different in only two states – Maine and Nebraska, where electoral votes are tied to congressional districts.

Therefore, the final outcome of the election will effectively be decided by the results of the vote in the seven swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina. In these countries, every vote can count.

Voters will gather in their state capitals to formally vote for the winner of the presidential election on December 17, and on January 6 their vote will be approved by Congress.

The newly elected president will take his oath of office on January 20.

Along with the election of the president, a third of the senators and all the members of the House of Representatives are being re-elected today. The battle is for 34 seats in the Senate and 435 seats in the lower house of Congress.