The Road to the White House

Although Election Day isn’t until November, candidates hit the road to the White House long before that. Presidential campaigns often officially begin about a year and a half before Election Day. Once a candidate throws their hat in the ring, they spend a lot of time traveling across the country, sharing their ideas for solving the country's problems with as many people as possible. They give speeches and interviews and interact with voters on social media. Each candidate’s goal is to become their party’s nominee, or choice, for president by convincing as many people as possible that they are the right person for the job.

Running a presidential campaign costs hundreds of millions of dollars. It also requires a big staff, with offices and volunteers in most major cities and towns. Candidates spend a lot of time raising money to pay for their campaigns by asking people, businesses, and organizations to donate funds. The more money presidential hopefuls raise, the more they can spend on travel and advertising. That can give them an advantage over their competitors.

After a few months on the campaign trail, candidates face off in debates that are streamed and televised. This allows viewers across the country to compare the candidates' views on important issues. At this point, the debates are held between candidates from the same political party. Doing well in a debate can give a candidate a big edge over his or her competitors. But doing poorly often ends a candidate's campaign.

Democrats and Republicans choose their final candidates during special state elections called primaries and caucuses. These elections are held between January and June.

Most states hold primaries, which work like the national election in November. Voters go to polling places to cast secret ballots. In caucuses, party members meet in small groups in churches, schools, and other locations to discuss candidates. Then they vote as a group. The results of the primaries or caucuses in each state determine the number of delegates a candidate wins. The candidate who wins the most delegates usually wins his or her party's official nomination. 

Democrats and Republicans each hold a national convention the summer before Election Day. In the past, tens of thousands of people have attended. At these conventions, each party's delegates officially choose one candidate for president and one candidate for vice president. Millions of Americans watch the conventions on online or on TV. The now-official presidential and vice-presidential candidates give speeches that kick off the final leg of the road to the White House.

After the national conventions, the final candidates campaign almost around the clock from August to November. They visit state after state, give speech after speech, and appear in dozens of TV, radio, and social media ads.

The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates often face off in three televised debates. The vice-presidential candidates typically meet for one debate. The debates are usually the only time voters get to see the candidates square off face-to-face.

Election Day is November 5. Millions of voters head to polling places to cast ballots for president and vice president. (They also vote for members of Congress and for state and local officials.) NEED TO ADD SOMETHING ABOUT EARLY VOTING.

Polling places, or polls, open early in the morning and stay open into the evening. Because the U.S. has different time zones, the polls in the East close several hours before those in the West. The winner is often not known until early the next morning-and, if the race is close, sometimes even longer.

The votes that Americans cast for president on November 5 aren't actually for the candidates themselves. They're for people known as electors. They form a  group called the Electoral College, which  really elects the U.S. president about six weeks after Election Day. 

On January 6, Congress officially counts each state's electoral votes in the final step of the Electoral College. The current U.S. vice president officially announces the results and declares which candidates have been elected president and vice president.

The new president’s four-year term officially starts on January 20 at the inauguration. The new commander-in-chief takes the oath of office on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. He or she promises to preserve, protect, and defend the U.S. Constitution. Then the new president gives a speech called the inaugural address, describing what he or she plans to accomplish while in office.

Millions of people line the streets in Washington, D.C., to watch the inaugural parade and see the new president ride or walk along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. Later that night, the president celebrates at big parties called inaugural balls.