All eyes are on you America When the presidential election reaches a pivotal moment and voters have one last chance to determine who will be elected next US president.

Both main political party candidates Kamala Harris And Donald Trump They are campaigning heavily in battleground states as early voting ends and election day is around the corner.

But getting to the point where we know who will enter the White House is a complex process, and the outcome can take days or even weeks to be announced.

We take a look at how US presidential election It will work.

When are the US elections?

Voting day for the US presidential elections is Tuesday, November 5.

However, most states in the US also allow early voting by mail or in person; early voting by mail begins early in person.

In some states, voters are required to provide a qualifying reason for wanting to vote by mail, such as being over 65, sick or disabled, or about to give birth.

Voting by mail began almost two months ago in some places, and in North Carolina, mail-in voting opened on September 6.

Pennsylvania allowed it starting September 16, although in-person early voting began a little later.

How do surveys work?

Exit polls for the US election will not appear until 5pm (Eastern Time) on Election Day.

These are compiled by pollsters working at selected polling stations, and departing voters are asked to voluntarily fill out anonymous surveys covering the candidate they voted for, key issues and demographic information.

Results from these interviews are then used to create a snapshot of how the election is going, which candidate received the most votes, and who may be ahead of which segments of the electorate.

Who are the candidates standing?

There are two candidates from the main political parties in the United States, but there are also independent candidates running for president.

Those hoping to become the next US president include:

• Vice President Kamala Harris for Democrats
• Former US President Donald Trump on behalf of the Republicans
• Chase Oliver for the Libertarian Party
• Jill Stein for the Green Party
• Claudia De la Cruz, for the Party of Socialism and Liberation (PSL)
• Cornel West is an independent candidate

When will the results be out?

Some counties in Indiana and Kentucky will be among the first to close their polls on November 5, starting at 6pm Eastern Time (10pm UK time).

Early predictions and results from these two states will likely arrive before midnight and offer some of the first indications of who might win.

It is possible for us to learn the result of the presidential election by the morning of November 6.

But recent history and this year’s close competition suggest it may take a little longer before a clear outcome is known.

Even if the majority of states announce their winners on election night or the next day, others may take longer; This means that the official outcome is far from certain until a candidate surpasses the 270 electoral college votes needed to win.

In 2020, election day was November 3, but it took almost four days for all votes across the country to be counted. Joe Biden did not declare victory until November 7.

In contrast, the 2016 results were announced in favor of Trump in the early morning hours of election day.

How are votes counted?

In the United States, the central government has no vote counting procedure. It is done state by state.

Normally, votes cast on election day are counted first, followed by early and mail voting, followed by overseas and military voting.

Local state election officials count votes in a process called campaigning. Each ballot must be checked for damage and verified against the number of active voters. Checks are also carried out for election inconsistencies.

They are then fed into an electronic scanner that records the results. Sometimes a manual recount may be needed.

Each state has different periods of time to self-audit the results and then issue a Certificate of Determination showing the official, final vote tally.

What is the electoral college?

The Electoral College is a body of individuals representing states in the United States who are elected to officially vote for the election of the president and vice president.

The US president is not directly elected by national vote.

Instead, when Americans cast their ballots, they choose a group of “electors” from their state who pledge to vote for a specific presidential and vice-presidential candidate based on the votes cast by the state’s electors.

These “electors” represent state voters in the electoral college and directly elect the president and vice president.

After a state counts and certifies its votes, the “electors” cast one official vote based on the state’s vote results.

There are 538 electors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with numbers allocated to states based on their population. California has 54 electors, while Alaska has at least three.

The winning candidate will need to receive at least 270 delegate votes to become president.

What happens after the votes are counted?

Certificates of Determination showing the official, final vote count for each state must be issued by the December 11, 2024 deadline.

Electors will then meet on December 17, 2024 to vote for President and Vice President.

On January 6, 2025, Congress met in a joint session to count the electoral votes.

Then, on January 20, the president-elect and vice president-elect are sworn in.