Election Day (United States)

Election Day
San Francisco City Hall illuminated in special red, white, and blue LED lighting at night on November 6, 2018 to commemorate Election Day across the United States
Type	Day for elections in the United States
Celebrations	Exercising civic duty, voting for elected officials, visiting polling precincts
Date	The Tuesday after the first Monday of November
2023 date	November 7 (Details)
2024 date	November 5 (Details)
2025 date	November 4 (Details)
2026 date	November 3 (Details)
Frequency	Biennial (annual if including off-years)

Election Day in the United States is the annual day for general elections of federal, state and local public officials. With respect to federal elections, it is statutorily set by the U.S. government as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November"^[1] of even-numbered years (i.e., the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8).

Federal offices (president, vice president, and United States Congress) and most governors (all except for Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia) and state legislatures are elected in even-numbered years. Presidential elections are held in years divisible by four, in which electors for president and vice president are chosen according to the method determined by each state. Elections to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are held every two years. All representatives are elected to serve two-year terms. Senators serve six-year terms, staggered so that one third of senators are elected in any given general election. Elections held two years after presidential elections are referred to as midterm elections. Terms for those elected begin in January the following year. The president and vice president are inaugurated (sworn in) on Inauguration Day, which is usually January 20.

Many state and local government offices are also elected on Election Day as a matter of convenience and cost saving. Most governors are elected in midterm years. A handful of states hold elections for state offices during odd-numbered off years. States may hold special elections for offices that have become vacant. Congress has mandated a uniform date for presidential (3 U.S.C. § 1) and congressional (2 U.S.C. § 1 and 2 U.S.C. § 7) elections, though early voting is nonetheless authorized in nearly every state, and states also have mail voting procedures.

The fact that Election Day falls on a Tuesday has become controversial in recent decades, as many people might be unable to vote because they have to work. It is a public holiday in some states, including Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, West Virginia, as well as the territory of the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. Some other states require that workers be permitted to take time off with pay. California requires that employees otherwise unable to vote must be allowed two hours off with pay, at the beginning or end of a shift. A federal holiday called Democracy Day, to coincide with Election Day, has been proposed, and some have proposed moving election day to the weekend.^[2] Other movements in the IT and automotive industries encourage employers to voluntarily give their employees paid time off on Election Day.