US Presidential Elections 2020: How does American President take power after vote?

While the coronavirus pandemic has altered the US presidential ballots and candidates’ campaigns, the US federal laws and constitution lists procedures for the election of the US president and vice president after the popular vote who takes over the power after US general elections. US Constitution gives rights to the citizens to choose the state's electors in two-part process—first, slates of potential electors chosen by the political parties in each state, second comes, casting the ballots for the Presidential candidate by selecting State's electors on November 3, 2020, general elections. 

However, the US leader takes power after the electors' meeting that votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. Presidential candidates go through state primary elections and caucuses into two voting phases, a nomination in primary elections in which the Democrats and Republicans chose sitting US President Trump as nominee and Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, and caucuses, party’s internal nominations followed by the general elections. After the elections, the winning candidate’s state political party selects the electors that hand over the power to the US President via procedures listed below. 

November 3

The citizens of the US will participate in a general election that selects two candidates that appear on local ballots. While the general elections aren’t held in all 50 states of the US, a slate of electors will be selected via a popular vote that casts votes for the Presidential candidate of their choice. Americans will be eligible to vote by mail. However, many states have deadlines to request mail ballots less than two weeks before Election Day, the Postal Service recommends that voters request them by Oct. 19 according to reports. Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the US President. 

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December 8

Each state gets a deadline to certify the election and dispute the ballots or litigate, factors that might delay the vote counting. According to US media reports, with the coronavirus pandemic that has spiked the mailed-in ballots to historic highs, the process of vote-counting might turn out to be more unwieldy even in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin due to the deluge of absentee ballots. The political players expect drawn-out and disputed vote counts and mail-in ballots would make results take longer, Matt Masterson, a senior adviser on election security for the Department of Homeland Security told NPR news agency. 

December 14

On this day the state electors' meetings are held wherein electors vote for the President. Congress cannot change any electors' name by this deadline in accordance with state law. Most states want their electors are named by this day that goes on elect the US President. Presidential voting happens by the electors seated between December 8 and this date. The governor of each state must certify the state's presidential election and a slate of electors. This is the day when the electors chosen by the citizens cast their ballots for president. 

December 23 

The states will transmit their votes to Congress by this date and on January 3, 2021, the new Congress is sworn in which counts the ballots and declares a winner who goes to hold the position of the United States. 

January 6, 2021

Congress meets at 1 p.m. in Washington where they count the electoral votes and declare a winner.

January 20

Inauguration Day wherein a new presidential term commences as the federal law designates an acting president. Running mate is sworn in as president and vice president at the US Capitol in Washington.

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(Image Credit: AP)