On Tuesday November 8, the citizens of the United States will elect their president for a four-year term in the White House. Know more about this electoral process with these 6 key facts.
- Every four years, on the first Tuesday in November (after the first Monday of the month), citizens go to the polls to choose their president.
- Every citizen over the age of 18 can vote in the elections, so long as they have previously registered in the state where they reside. Although every registration process is different, currently 31 states offer the possibility of registering online.
- Voting in the United States is not a direct affair. Every citizen votes for the President and Vice President of the Electoral College, an organism that then elects the President of the country.
- The presidential candidate that gets 270 Electoral College votes (out of a possible 538) will win the White House.
- Currently there are 218,959,000 American citizens allowed to vote. However, it is estimated that only 82% of them (146,311,000) are registered.
- It is also estimated that at least 130 million voting ballots will be used to elect the president in the 2016 elections.
US Elections: What you need to know