The election: now and what is to come

Now that the two major political parties selected their nominees for the presidency and vice presidency of the United States, we are officially in the general election season.

Ahead of the American public: a whirlwind of campaign commercials, innumerable vital reminders to cast one’s ballot, and non-stop media coverage of candidate appearances— and tweets. And of course, the potential surprises that seem to always pop up in the last days and weeks of an election.

There is a great deal that is unique about the 2020 election cycle that can make it disorienting. But it can help to know where we are at and what is to come.

The Republican Party selected the current (incumbent) President Donald Trump, and his running mate: the current Vice President Mike Pence as their nominees. They will face off against the Democratic Party challengers: former Vice President Joe Biden with his running mate: current California Senator Kamala Harris.

With this information, states can now begin printing and mailing out ballots to their citizens. Some states will allow voting to begin right away through opportunities to vote by mail or through in-person early voting. The public health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to mean many more voters will take these safer routes to making their voices heard this year.

Voting opportunities depend on the state in which one lives. While some aspects of voting and elections are set by the Constitution and federal laws, many other aspects are determined by state and local governments. The courts may get involved if things are contested.

Three debates are scheduled between Trump and Biden. They will begin in late September and run through late October. A break will occur between the second and third debates so that the public gets a chance to see Pence and Harris square off.

Throughout this time, fundraising will continue at a rapid pace as the contenders work to ensure they can compete in terms of advertisements and staffing. Also, this year they will be heavily investing in their legal teams as there are likely to be many conflicts about election policies and practices. If one lives in the states that polls suggest are most evenly split among supporters of either party’s candidates’ — the so-called “swing” or “battleground” states— they will get the most attention from the candidates.

While this year especially, it can make sense to say we have an election season, our official Election Day falls on Tuesday November 3rd. Even with so much mail-in and early voting, there are likely to still be places where lines are long and many people vote into the late evening hours.

For all these reasons and more, state officials have begun to warn the public that we may need to adjust their expectations. Election night may mean some results are known— but not all results. While on many past election nights we have tuned in to the television news to see how the map’s colors shake out, we may need to wait days— or weeks— to fully determine if states went red or blue and officially tally electoral votes.

And of course, election season will not officially be over until the electoral college meets in December. The winning candidate will be sworn in as president after the new year— on January 20, 2021.

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