How does the US Election work? What time will the new President be announced? Why are swing states important?
THE US Presidential election is reaching its final stages, after more than 130m voters headed to the polls today.
After the lengthy primary process in which the two main parties selected their candidates, voters were subjected to three more months of campaigning before the polls officially opened.
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Now, finally, the end is in sight. Here’s a breakdown of how the US election works...
When will the next President be announced?
A whopping 130m people were predicted to cast their vote - although the winner isn't expected to be revealed until the early hours due to the sheer size of the country and its six time zones.
The first polls will began to close about 11pm UK time (6pm EST) , but things will start to get interesting by about 1am (8pm EST) when they close in key battlegrounds like Pennsylvania – a key indicator into how well Clinton’s campaign has gone.
Polls begin to close in western states from about 3am (10pm EST) onwards.
Usually by around 4am (11pm EST) on November 9 it will become clear which side has won.
In 2012 the Associated Press called the result for Barack Obama at 4.38am (11.38pm EST).
And while Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein are also on the ballot, the American election is a two-horse race dominated by the country’s two main parties.
Either Republican Donald Trump or Democratic Hillary Clinton will almost certainly be elected the 45th President of the United States after the polls close.
What is the electoral college system?
Trump and Clinton will not become President by winning the most number of votes – known as the ‘popular vote’ – but rather gaining more ‘electoral college votes’ also known as ‘electors’.
Each of the 50 US states, and the capital Washington DC (a district which does not belong to any state) have a set number of electors which reflects their size.
California is the most populated (over 38 million people) and has 55 electoral votes – more than any other.
On the other hand a state such as Montana, which is geographically large but has a relatively small population (just over one million people) – only has three electors.
There are 538 electoral votes up for grabs and to become President the candidates need to win 270 – which is half plus one.
Aside from Maine and Nebraska, if a candidate gets the most votes within a state they receive that state’s full quota of electoral college votes.
What are ‘swing states’ and why are they important?
These ‘battleground states’ swing from Republican to Democrat and vice-versa and are where the Presidential election is won and lost.
These crucial states are Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan.
However, the most important are large swing states Florida (29 electors) and Ohio (18 electors) which almost always predict the eventual winner.
In fact, the candidate who has won Ohio has went on to become President at every single election since 1960.
Similarly, the nominee who has triumphed in Florida has entered the White House in all but one election in the last 56 years.
What is a contested election?
Not knowing who has won the election outright is a distinct possibility and happened as recently as 2000.
When the vote is extremely close or even tied, legal challenges can force a recount.
In 2000, for the first time in 112 years, the eventual winner of the election, Republican George W. Bush (47.87% of voters), failed to win the popular vote lagging behind the Democratic nominee Al Gore who won over 48.38 % of voters.
The outcome of that election came down to Florida, which at time had 25 electoral college votes and gave Bush a narrow electoral college win with 271 electors over Gore's 266.
However, the contest was so close in the sunshine state that a mandatory recount was triggered. And with legal challenges being launched in several Florida counties the case was eventually decided by the Supreme court who handed the state, and therefore the Presidency, to Bush with a ruling 5-4 in favour of the Republican on December 12 of that year.
Now Donald Trump has claimed he may challenge the 2016 election result if things don't go his way.
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