A Guide to the US General Election: How Does the Election Work?

A general election is an election in which candidates are chosen for office. The term is mostly used in the United States to distinguish general elections from primary elections. The most famous general U.S. election is the presidential election, but state and local elections, as well as special elections (which involve replacing a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate), may be called general elections if they are preceded by a primary.

The purpose of the general election is to fill a government office that is about to become empty. On election day, registered voters get to share their preference for an elected official. Typically this is decided by the popular vote. The presidential election is unique because there is an additional step: the electoral college, who vote for a candidate based on the results of a general election.

A primary election is a lead-up to the general election. Although primary and general elections function similarly, the winner of the primary election does not take a seat in office, they simply advance to the next stage of voting.

While primaries can be closed, open, or semi-closed, the general election is open to everyone who is eligible and registered to vote; it’s never required to vote along Republican or Democrat party lines.

The process of a general election differs depending on what office(s) are up for vote, but for the U.S. presidential general election the process is:

• Election campaigning: Candidates typically begin campaigning well in advance of the primaries, and continue up until election day. During campaign season, candidates debate each other and volunteers set up voter registration booths.
• Primary election voting: Each political party holds a presidential primary election or caucus in every state to determine their nominee. The nominee and their running mate/vice president) are announced at a nationwide convention. In the U.S., primaries and caucuses typically take place from January to June during an election year, with the nominating conventions occurring July through September.
• National election voting: Citizens vote in person at their polling place, or by mail with an absentee ballot. Before election day, sample ballots are sent out. In the U.S., presidential election day is the first Tuesday after November 1st.
• Electoral college: Each state gets a number of electors equal to the number of members of congress it has. In most states, the winner of the election in that state receives all of the electors’ votes. (In Maine and Nebraska, votes are assigned proportionally.) Even though news outlets typically release election results on election night, electors officially vote in December, and Congress counts the electoral votes in early January. A candidate needs at least 270 of the 538 electors’ votes to win the presidency. The electoral college process only happens during the presidential general election; other general elections skip this step and are typically determined by popular vote. The electoral college means that it is possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote but win the election, as happened in 2016, 2000, 1888, 1876, and 1824.
• Inauguration: On January 20, the new president is sworn in.

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