Politics junkies will be in their glory for the coming 10 (and a bit) months as candidates for the US presidency jockey first for their party’s nomination and then to take it all when the nation votes on Tuesday, 5 November 2024. Herewith, Enterprise’s every-four-years rundown on the key dates and happenings you need to watch.

Most pundits presume Donald Trump and Joe Biden will go head-to-head in a replay of the 2020 poll, but both men need to first take their party’s nomination — and Trump has legal hurdles to clear. On a federal level, one of the cases Trump is facing is the federal indictment accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. Trump argues he is immune to the charges as he was president at the time. Lawyers working on the case won’t be celebrating New Year’s Eve this year as written briefs in the case are to be filed on 2 January, and the appeals court will hear oral arguments on 9 January.

On a state level, the Colorado Supreme Court ruling has already pushed Trump off the ballot there, with judges staying the ruling from taking effect until 4 January, “subject to further appellate proceedings.” The ruling is expected to be appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court if needed.

This might not really matter at the end of the day. Trump lost the state to Biden by over 13 percentage points in 2020. He also lost it to Hillary Clinton by almost five percentage points four years earlier. In fact, The Centennial state is seen as a safe democratic one and no Republican presidential candidate has carried it since George W Bush in 2004.

Legal questions aside, the first stage of the elections is the primaries and caucuses, which are state-level contests to select delegates who will vote for their party’s nominee at the national conventions. These start in January and end in June, with some variation depending on the state. The most important dates are:

  • 15 January: Iowa caucuses, the first-in-the-nation contest that often sets the tone for the rest of the race.
  • 23 January: New Hampshire primary, another early and influential state that can make or break a candidate’s momentum.
  • 5 March: Super Tuesday, when 14 states and territories hold their primaries or caucuses, accounting for about a third of the total delegates.
  • 11 June: Last day of primaries and caucuses, when the District of Columbia wraps up the process.

The second stage is the national conventions, which are party gatherings where the delegates formally nominate their presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The Republican National Convention is scheduled for July 15-18, and the Democratic National Convention for August 19-22. The conventions are also a chance for the parties to showcase their platforms, speakers, and unity (or lack thereof).

We typically would also have a period of national campaigning that includes three televised presidential debates and one vice presidential tete-a-tete. This was once seen as a sacrosanct part of the electoral process, but we wouldn’t be so sure it would happen this year. As Trump has shown during this stage of the Republican primaries, he doesn’t have, or even need, to attend debates. He might opt against joining the Democratic nominee on stage. If tradition holds, however, we should expect the first presidential debate to be held in September with two more in October.

Whatever happens, the US President is scheduled to be inaugurated on 20 January, 2025… we guess. Everything could be up in the air judging by how ugly the situation in DC turned last time around.

WAIT — that’s not all. Americans, as the old adage goes, elect everyone from the president to the dogcatcher. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs this fall, as are 34 six-year Senate seats, 18 of them held by Democrats. Former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders and Maine’s Angue King, who caucus with the Dems, are also up for re-election.

REMEMBER: The Electoral College, not the popular vote, ultimately decides who becomes president. Each state is allocated electors equal to its congressional representation (senators plus representatives). Voters in each state choose electors, pledged to presidential candidates. Taking the popular vote in a state usually means a candidate gets all its electoral votes (except in Maine and Nebraska). A candidate needs 270 of 538 electoral votes to take the presidency.

AND- A candidate can be elected president without a majority of the popular vote, as happened in the 2000 and 2016 elections.

DEMOCRACY — IT’S NOT JUST FOR AMERICANS

AND- Do you crave more than just American politics? 2024 is a big year for elections around the world.

  • South African general election, TBD. This is expected to be really competitive for the first time since the end of apartheid. The ruling African National Congress (ANC), led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, will face a tough challenge from the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and other parties.
  • Taiwanese presidential and legislative elections, 13 January. The island nation will elect its president, vice president, and members of the Legislative Yuan.
  • Pakistan general election, 8 February. Pakistan will elect its members of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies.
  • Indonesian general election, 14 February. The fourth-most populous country in the world will elect its president, vice president, and members of the People’s Consultative Assembly.
  • Russian presidential election, 17 March. Keep moving folks, not much happening here.
  • South Korean legislative election, 10 April. The East Asian country will elect its members of the National Assembly, the unicameral legislature.
  • Indian general election, April-May. The world’s largest democracy will elect its 18th Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament, as well as members of state assemblies. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will seek to retain its majority and fend off the opposition Indian National Congress and other regional parties.
  • Mexican general election, 2 June. The second-largest country in Latin America will elect its president, members of the Congress of the Union, and governors of 32 states.
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