The US election has dominated international headlines since campaigning began in early 2015. Here are five things you might not know about the decision-making process.
1. VOTING IS VOLUNTARY
More than 218 million Americans are eligible to vote in the election (US citizens, aged 18 or over) but only 146 million have reportedly registered. North Dakota is the only state that does not require registration. The US has a historically low voter turnout with just 63.6 per cent of eligible voters rocking up to polls in 2008, falling to a rate of 61.8 per cent when President Obama was re-elected in 2012.
2. THE ELECTION IS ALWAYS ON A TUESDAY
The election has been held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every four years since 1845. This was initially so farmers had time to travel to the county seat by horse and cart to vote between Sunday worship and market day on Wednesday. A bill was introduced in 2009 to move election day to the weekend. Israel and Denmark are the only other countries to hold Tuesday elections, while Sunday is the most popular day to go to the polls worldwide.
3. THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO PARTIES
The US political system is dominated by two parties with Republican and Democratic candidates placing first or second in every presidential election, except one, since 1852. But in 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt created the Progressive Party after losing the Republican nomination and placed second to Democrat Woodrow Wilson. The US remains scattered with third parties and independents including former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, representing the Libertarian Party in 2016, and the Green Party's Jill Stein.
4. FLORIDA AND OHIO HOLD POWER
John F. Kennedy was the last president be elected without the vote of the state of Ohio, back in 1960. The bellwether state has just 18 of the 538 electoral college votes but has picked every successful president in the past 13 elections. Florida is another crucial swing state as it has 29 votes and frequently switches camps, supporting Republican George W. Bush for two terms (2000, 2004) before twice-backing Democrat Barack Obama (2008, 2012). In contrast, California has 55 electoral votes but voted Democrat for the past six elections, while Texas has 38 electoral votes but voted Republican for the past nine elections.
5. THE PRESIDENCY BEGINS IN JANUARY
The election can be called as early as 11pm (US East Coast time) on November 8 but Inauguration Day is on January 20. This is when presidential power is transferred from one administration to the next and the new first family move into the White House. The 73 days between the two dates is called the "lame duck" period when outgoing members of Congress and the incumbent president legally still hold office. The official social media accounts will also be surrendered in January including the famous @POTUS and @FLOTUS Twitter handles.
(Source: US Census Bureau; 270towin.com; WhiteHouse.gov/blog; Archives.gov)
