US Elections

Election Day in the United States is the day set by law for the selection of public officials by popular ballot. Federal (or National) Elections always occur on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November of every even numbered year (the Tuesday between November 2 and November 8, inclusively).

In Federal Elections, all members of the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms together with one-third of the Senate for six-year terms. In years with a Presidential Election (years that are evenly divisible by four), electors for President and Vice-president are also chosen according to the method determined by each state. Many state and local government offices are also elected on Election Day, but this varies according to state and local law.

Congress has mandated a uniform date for Presidential and Congressional elections, though early voting is nonetheless authorized in many states. In Oregon, where all elections are vote-by-mail, all ballots must be received by a set time on Election Day, as is common with absentee ballots in most states (except overseas military ballots which receive more time by Federal law). In the state of Washington, where most counties are vote-by-mail (and in the others most votes are cast by mail as permanent absentee ballots), ballots need only be postmarked by Election Day.

Election Day is a legal holiday in some states, including Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia. Some other states have laws that allow workers to take time off from employment without reprisal, and often without loss in pay. Democratic Representative John Conyers of Michigan recently introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would make Election Day a national holiday, Democracy Day.

US Presidential Elections

The United States presidential election of 2008, scheduled to be held on November 4, 2008, will be the 55th consecutive quadrennial election for president and vice president of the United States. There also will be elections for all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and elections for 34 members of the United States Senate.

The 2008 Democratic primaries will be the selection process by which the Democrats choose their candidates in the 2008 election for President and Vice President of the United States through a series of primaries and caucuses culminating in the 2008 Democratic National Convention, to be held from Monday, August 25, through Thursday, August 28, 2008, in Denver, Colorado.

The 2008 Republican primaries will be the selection process by which the Republicans elect delegates who will then elect the GOP candidate in the 2008 election for President and Vice President of the United States. The primary season is a series of primaries and caucuses culminating in the 2008 Republican National Convention to be held in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota from September 1 until September 4, 2008, where the delegates will vote on who their candidate will be. A simple majority of delegate votes (1,230 out of 2,458) is required to become the party's nominee.