US Presidential election timeline 2024: What are the key dates?

Here is a timeline of events related to the election between now and Inauguration Day next January.

On October 1, 2024, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and Democratic rival Tim Walz participated in a debate hosted by CBS News.

• November 5, 2024 : Election Day
• Later in November: It could take days for the election result to be known, especially if it is closed and mail-in ballots are a factor.

November 26, 2024: Trump , the first sitting or former US president to be convicted of a crime, is due to be sentenced in the Manhattan hush money case where he was found guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star. Trump denied wrongdoing, and sentencing was originally due on September 18.

December 17, 2024: Electors, who together form the Electoral College , meet in their respective states or the District of Columbia to select the president and vice president.

December 25, 2024: The electoral votes must be received by the president of the Senate - a role held by the vice president, currently Harris - and the archivist by this date.

January 6, 2025: The vice president presides over the Electoral College vote count at a joint session of Congress, announces the results, and declares who has been elected.

Before the count on January 6, 2021, Trump criticised his vice president, Mike Pence , for declining to intervene in Congress's certification of Biden 's victory. On that day, the US Capitol was assaulted by Trump supporters attempting to halt the counting process. Biden's victory was officially certified early the following day.

Congress has since passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, which requires approval of one-fifth of the House and Senate to consider a challenge to a state's results - a much higher bar than existed before when any single lawmaker from each chamber could trigger a challenge.

• January 20, 2025: The inauguration of the election winner and their vice president takes place. At this ceremony, the victor and the vice president are officially sworn into office.