US Presidential Election 2020: Voters will seal the fate of new president and vice president or re-elect the already ruling Donald Trump and Mike Pence. (Photo Credit: Special Arrangement )
New Delhi:
United States Presidential Election 2020: The 59th quadrennial election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Voters will seal the fate of new president and vice president or re-elect the already ruling Donald Trump and Mike Pence. A simple majority of 270 out of the 538 votes available wins the White House. Since 1976, this election is the first not to include a member of the Bush, Clinton or Paul political families on the ballot. All the political leaders are campaigning in full swing. Many state Republican Party organizations have cancelled their primaries in a show of support for Donald Trump’s candidacy.
Ahead of the elections, Democrats and the Republicans witnessed heated arguments over Trump’s impeachment. The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump on two counts - abuse of power and obstruction to Congress. The President was later acquitted by the Senate. The Republican-majority Senate voted 52-48 to acquit Trump of abuse of power and 53-47 to acquit him of obstruction of Congress, thus preventing the Democrats' move to overthrow him, for which they required two-thirds of votes in the 100-member House.
There are only two parties considered by majority of US voters - the Democrats (the liberal) and the Republicans (the conservative). According to the Pew Research Centre, in 2016, just over 57 million Americans - 28.5 per cent of eligible voters - participated in the primaries of both parties.
| DATE | EVENT |
| From January-April | Democratic debates (up to six) |
| February 3 | Iowa caucuses (Democratic and Republican) |
| February 11 | New Hampshire primary (Democratic and Republican) |
| February 22 | Nevada caucuses (Democratic) |
| February 29 | South Carolina primary (Democratic). |
| March 3 | California, Texas and at least 11 other states hold primaries. |
| From March-June | More nominating contests to be held |
| July 13-16 | Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee |
| August 24-27 | Republican National Convention in Charlotte. |
| September 29 | The first presidential debate, at the University of Notre Dame. |
| October 7 | The only vice presidential debate |
| October 15 | The second presidential debate |
| October 22 | The third presidential debate |
| November 3 | Election Day |
| December 14 | Formal vote for the president and vice president. |
| January 6 | Electoral votes formally counted |
| January 20 | Inauguration Day |
In the US, in case no candidate receives the majority of electoral votes, then the House of Representatives will select the president from the top three candidates. The Vice President is then chosen from the remaining two candidates.
