US election 2024: Key dates, how the president is elected and all you need to know

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to face off in November vote

Election day is on November 5. AP

Voters are gearing up to head to the polls for the US presidential election.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, respectively the Democratic and Republican nominees, are vying for the White House.

Election season started in mid-September, with absentee or mail-in ballots sent to eligible voters and in-person polling places opening up for early voting.

The National takes a look at the major players and important dates in this year's presidential election.

When is the US election 2024 and when will results be announced?

Election day is Tuesday, November 5, and the candidate who wins 270 electoral votes or more becomes president.

Results could be announced on election day itself, in the days afterwards or even a number of weeks after due to the complexities of vote counting in the US.

During the 2020 election, TV networks did not announce the results until 4 days later.

After state election officials certify ballot tallies, the electors meet in their individual states and certify them to officially cast their votes. They will send their votes and results to Congress on December 17, a little more than a month after the election.

US presidential election candidates

Kamala Harris: The US Vice President is running for office after her boss President Joe Biden, 81, ended his re-election bid in July.

Mr Biden, the oldest president in US history, stepped aside amid low polls, concerns over his fitness to serve, as well as backlash over his administration's support for Israel during the war in Gaza.

Ms Harris, 60, inherited his Democratic campaign apparatus and hit the election trail, beating fundraising records and garnering a wide pool of support within weeks.

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Donald Trump: The former president, who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in July, is making his third bid for the White House, handily winning the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July.

Mr Trump was convicted on 34 counts in a hush-money case and also faces dozens of other charges across several court cases. He has been accused of mishandling classified documents and leading a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

After Mr Biden left the race due in part to his age, Mr Trump, 78, has also faced concerns.

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Who are the vice presidential candidates?

Tim Walz: Ms Harris chose the Minnesota Governor and former congressman as her running mate.

The former teacher and American football coach also served in the National Guard for decades.

JD Vance: The junior senator from Ohio is Mr Trump's running mate.

The author of Hillbilly Elegy is also a veteran and founded a venture capital firm before becoming a politician.

Mr Biden – and now Ms Harris – have faced challenges from a small but vocal movement encouraging Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in the primaries in response to support for Israel during the war in Gaza.

Who is running on third-party tickets?

For the Independent Party: Lawyer Robert F Kennedy Jr, a nephew of former president John F Kennedy, was running for office, with his campaign focused on ending “forever wars”, ensuring tax civil liberties and tax fairness, and anti-vaccine activism.

However in August, he suspended his long-shot presidential campaign and announced his decision to endorse Republican candidate Mr Trump in the election.

Ivy League professor and academic Cornel West is running as a progressive.

For the Green Party, Jill Stein, who ran for president in 2012 and 2016, is running for her party's nomination again. She has a large amount of support among Arab Americans.

Key dates in the 2024 US election

What is the Electoral College?

The US president is not elected by popular vote, but rather by a majority of electors, in a unique system called the Electoral College.

Each state has a specific number of electors based on the census, depending on the number of senators and congressional districts.

A presidential candidate needs the support of 270 out of 538 electors in the Electoral College to win the election.

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When is the certification of the election?

After the electors hold meetings in their states and send in formal certifications, members of Congress will meet at the Capitol in Washington to certify the results on January 6, 2025.

When is the inauguration?

Inauguration day is on January 20, 2025.