Steps in electing a U.S. President

The president is elected every four years and can serve for only two terms. According to the U.S. Constitution, the president must be a native-born citizen of at least 35 years of age and a resident for at least 14 years

Nomination: Candidates campaign in primaries and caucuses to win their
party’s appointment at National Conventions

Jul: Conventions back Donald Trump (right) as Republican presidential nominee and Mike Pence (inset right) as his running mate; Hillary Clinton (left) as Democratic nominee and Tim Kaine (inset left) as candidate for vice president

2 Sep 5, Labor Day: Final eight-week dash kicks off on Labor Day. In each of past four elections 22 states have consistently voted Republican and 18 have voted Democrat

3 Nov 8, Election Day: President is not chosen directly by voters but by Electoral College

4 Dec 19, Electoral College: President and Vice President formally elected by body of 538 electors – candidate with 270 electoral votes wins. Electors equal to total membership of Congress – 435 Representatives, 100
Senators, plus three electors from District of Columbia

6 Jan 20: President-elect takes Oath of Office and becomes President of
the United States

Swing-state war: Campaign to win remaining 10 battleground states will be backed up with unrelenting radio and TV adverts. Last election aired 1.1 million TV ads costing $698.8m

Winner of popular vote takes all Electoral College votes in each state apart from Maine* and Nebraska*

5 Jan 6, 2017: Congress meets in joint session to count electoral votes.
If no candidate wins 270 majority, House of Representatives elects President by majority vote. Senate elects Vice President

*votes split between districts and state-wide ballot

Sources: Center for Responsive Politics, Wesleyan University

Pictures: Associated Press © GRAPHIC NEWS