Factbox: Key Dates in the 2024 US Presidential Race by Reuters

By Costas Pitas

Former President Donald Trump, representing the Republican Party, is set to face off against Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in the upcoming U.S. presidential election scheduled for November 5.

Here’s a timeline of important events leading up to Inauguration Day in January:

• October 1: Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance will debate Democratic rival Tim Walz, with CBS News hosting the event.

• November 5: Election Day will take place.

• Late November: The results of the election may take several days to be finalized, particularly if the race is close or if mail-in ballots play a significant role.

• November 26: Trump, who is the first former or sitting U.S. president to be convicted of a crime, is scheduled for sentencing in a case involving hush money payments related to falsified documents. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and this sentencing was originally slated for September 18.

• December 17: Electors from the Electoral College will convene in their respective states or the District of Columbia to choose the president and vice president.

• December 25: By this date, the electoral votes must be officially submitted to the President of the Senate, currently Kamala Harris, as well as to the National Archives.

2025:

• January 6: The vice president will oversee the counting of electoral votes during a joint session of Congress, announce the results, and declare the elected president and vice president.

During the previous count on January 6, 2021, Trump criticized then Vice President Mike Pence for not attempting to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, leading to a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Biden’s election was nevertheless certified that day.

Following these events, Congress enacted the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022. This new law mandates that any challenge to a state’s election results must be approved by one-fifth of both the House and Senate, raising the threshold from the previous law that allowed any single member to initiate a challenge.

• January 20: The inauguration ceremony for the newly elected president and vice president will take place, officially marking their swearing-in to office.