US presidential election: 2020 date, candidates and schedule revealed

Tim Baker28 September 2020

Almost four years after Donald Trump’s election win shook the world, the United States is gearing up to go back to the polls to see if the divisive leader will be handed power for another term.

Mr Trump will face off against Joe Biden, the Democratic challenger for the White House, in the November 3 poll.

Mr Trump and Mr Biden each need 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. While most states have a favourite, in some regions, it is too close to call.

The new president will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021.

Here's what you need to know:

Who is in the running?

Incumbent President Mr Trump is standing again as the Republican candidate and hopes to serve a second term as the 45th president in the White House.

Former Vice President Mr Biden is the Democratic nominee. His major rival for the role, Senator Bernie Sanders, suspended his campaign in April 2020.

Mr Biden beat out tens of competitors overall to clinch the title, including Mr Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Senator Kamala Harris, who was later announced as Mr Biden's running mate.

Libertarian Party candidate Jo Jorgensen and the Green Party's Howie Hawkins will also contest the election but are unlikely to secure many votes.

In a somewhat bizarre turn of events, Rapper Kanye West, 43, also announced earlier this year he was running for the US' highest political office.

The artist missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot in several states, however. and will only be a candidate in 12 states as a result

How does the vote work?

US citizens heading to the polls will vote for people called 'electors' in their state who then vote on behalf of the states for president - this process is called the electoral college.

The higher the population of a state, the more electors that state has. The six biggest states are California, with 55 electoral votes, Texas, with 38, New York, with 29, Florida, also with 29, Illinois, with 20, and Pennsylvania, also with 20.

The first candidate to win a majority of 270 electoral votes out of the total 538 available wins the White House.

The popular vote - the sheer number of votes received by each candidate - has nothing to do with determining the winner of the general election.

Losing candidates have on occasion won the popular vote, but lost the electoral vote, as happened to Al Gore in 2000 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.

What is the schedule leading up to the vote?

There will be three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate prior to the November 3 poll.

The first presidential debate will take place on September 29, with the second and third set to be held on October 15 and October 22 respectively.

The sole vice-presidential debate is set to take place on October 7 and will see incumbent Vice President Mike Pence and Ms Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, face off.

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