Election Day is always the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. This year, it falls on November 3. (But the winner of the race for president won’t be sworn into office until January 20, 2021!)

Sorry—these parties have nothing to do with balloons and cake! There are two main political parties—Democrats and Republicans. Parties support their members as candidates for local, state, and national government offices and help voters learn these candidates’ ideas about policies and leadership. 

Learn more about political parties here.

Americans are allowed to vote if they are U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old on Election Day, and registered—or officially signed up—to vote. (Fun fact: North Dakota is the only state that does not require people to register to vote.) 

From February to June, each state and Washington, D.C.—as well as U.S. territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico—held separate voting contests to select their nominees for president. There are two types of contests: A primary is similar to the national election. Voters go to the polls to cast ballots in secret. In a caucus, people meet in small groups to talk about the candidates and vote for their top choices.

Any registered voter can vote for any candidate in a general election. Some states, though, require that you belong to a political party to vote in a primary election, and most states let you vote only in your own party’s primary.

On November 3, voters will take part in the popular vote. But a group of 538 people called the Electoral College officially elects our president.

Here’s how it works: Voters see the presidential candidates’ names on the ballot. But when they vote for one of them, they’re really voting for electors. These are people who have promised to vote for a certain candidate. They’ll meet to cast their official votes about a month after Election Day.

Learn more about the Electoral College here. 

Donald Trump is running against Joe Biden in this year’s presidential election.

Trump is the incumbent, which means he is the person currently holding the office of president. He is the nominee for the Republican Party, and his running mate is Mike Pence. 

Biden competed against many other candidates—including Bernie Sanders—in the Democratic primaries to become the Democratic nominee for president.

Donald Trump is the current president of the United States. He is running for a second term as president. Joe Biden beat out many other candidates to become President Trump’s main opponent.

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, added in 1951, sets a two-term limit for the presidency. If President Trump wins the 2020 election, he will serve a second term. That means he will not be able to run again in 2024. 

Why is there a two-term limit? Here’s a little history lesson: America’s first president, George Washington, served two terms but refused to serve a third term. This set the precedent for a president to serve only up to two terms. But Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president, won a third term in office in 1940—and a fourth in 1944. This created unease about the possibility of a president gaining too much power, so the Constitution was amended to create a limit.

Each candidate for president chooses a running mate. And that team is a package deal. When an American votes for a presidential candidate, he or she is also voting for that candidate’s running mate for vice president.

This year, the running mates are:

• Donald Trump for president and Mike Pence for vice president
• Joe Biden for president and Kamala Harris for vice president

On November 3, voters will take part in the popular vote, but a group of 538 people called the Electoral College officially elects our president.

Here’s how it works: Voters see the presidential candidates' names on the ballot, but when they vote for one of them, they’re really voting for electors. These are people who have promised to vote for a certain candidate. They’ll meet to cast their official votes about a month after Election Day.

Aside from the race for president, voters will elect 35 senators, 435 members of the House of Representatives, and 11 governors.

Your area may have more state and local contests too. Find out who is running at usa.gov/election-office.

Two of the past three U.S. presidents—Donald Trump and George W. Bush—were elected to their position without winning the popular vote. How does this happen? It has to do with the Electoral College.

Each state has a number of electors equal to its total number of senators and representatives. For example, Illinois has 18 representatives and 2 senators, so it has 20 electors. A candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes—a majority of the total of 538—to become president.

In most states, the candidate who wins the popular vote gets all of that state’s electoral votes. (Maine and Nebraska have a different system.) That means states that have a lot of electors—like California, Texas, and New York—play a big role in the outcome of an election. 

But sometimes, a candidate can win the popular vote of a big state—and take that state’s large number of electoral votes—by a very small margin. That’s where the discrepancies between the popular and electoral votes start to build up.

To better understand how the Electoral College works, check out our interactive Electoral College map here.

Sorry—these parties have nothing to do with balloons and cake! There are two main political parties—Democrats and Republicans. Parties support their members as candidates for local, state, and national government offices. They help voters learn these candidates’ ideas about policies and leadership. 

Learn more about political parties here.

In order to vote in the United States, you must be a U.S. citizen, meet your state’s residency requirements, be 18 years old on or before Election Day, and be registered to vote by your state’s voter registration deadline (unless you live in North Dakota, which does not require registration).

However, some states allow you to preregister to vote at a certain age, while others let you register early as long as you will be 18 on Election Day. Check with your state or local election office to learn the rules in your state, or visit headcount.org for more information.