Key dates to know in the presidential race as the 2024 election nears

Maya Marchel Hoff, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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U.S. voters will head to the polls on Nov. 5 in just over five months to select their next president. The contest is proving to be highly divisive and closely fought, with Democratic incumbent Joe Biden and Republican frontrunner and former president Donald Trump expected to be the leading contenders.

Here is a timeline of events related to the Nov. 5 election between now and Inauguration Day in January 2025.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Summer 2024

June 27th: Biden and Trump's first of two debates this election will be held in CNN's Atlanta, Georgia studio. The debate, moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will not be in front of a live audience. Both candidates agreed to two debates in May, sidestepping the September and October dates already set by the Committee on Presidential Debates, which usually hosts three debates.

July 11th: Trump will be sentenced in his Manhattan hush money trial weeks after he was found guilty on 34 criminal counts for falsifying documents to hide payment to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels, ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump is the first sitting or former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.

July 15-18: The Republican National Convention will kick off in Milwaukee, where the party will hand out official candidate nominations.

Sen. Kamala Harris speaks on stage during the Vice Presidential debate held at Kingsbury Hall at The University of Utah on Oct. 7, 2020.
Sen. Kamala Harris speaks on stage during the Vice Presidential debate held at Kingsbury Hall at The University of Utah on Oct. 7, 2020.

Late July or August: Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to debate Trump's not yet-announced VP pick on CBS on either of the proposed dates of July 23 or Aug. 13. Trump has accepted a vice presidential debate held on Fox but has not confirmed if his running mate would debate Harris on CBS. The Biden campaign has not said whether Harris would participate in a debate on Fox.

By August 7: The Democrats are scheduled to hold a virtual roll call to nominate Biden before Aug. 7, Ohio's electoral ballot certification deadline in Ohio.

August 19-22: The Democratic National Convention in Chicago will take place, where the party will officially nominate candidates, including Biden.

Fall 2024

September 10: ABC will host the second and final debate of the presidential election year between Biden and Trump.

Nov 5: Election Day but results could take days, especially if it's a close call and mail-in ballots are a factor.

Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., prepare to read the final certification of Electoral College votes cast in November's presidential election during a joint session of Congress after working through the night, at the Capitol on January 7, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., prepare to read the final certification of Electoral College votes cast in November's presidential election during a joint session of Congress after working through the night, at the Capitol on January 7, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

January 2025

Jan 6: Congress will convene in a joint session presided by the Vice President to count the Electoral College votes and declare the winner of the presidential election.

Jan. 6, 2021, proved to be a historic day when the U.S. Capitol was attacked by pro-Trump rioters attempting to stop the vote count. Both chambers of Congress later resumed their work and certified Biden's win.

Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, during a rally to contest the U.S. Congressional certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.
Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, during a rally to contest the U.S. Congressional certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.

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.

Jan 20: The inauguration of the elected presidential candidate and their vice president will take place, where both will be sworn into office.

Reuters contributed to the reporting of this story.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US presidential election calendar: Key dates to know in 2024