The following is a tentative timeline of major events leading up, during, and after the 2024 United States presidential election. This will be the first presidential election to be run with population data from the 2020 census. In addition to the dates mandated by the relevant federal laws such as those in the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act, several milestones have consistently been observed since the adoption of the conclusions of the 1971 McGovern–Fraser Commission.
2020
November 4: Kanye West announced his 2024 election campaign.[1]
November 7: Joe Biden is declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election by a consensus of major news outlets projecting the results.[2]
December 18: The U.S. Supreme Court delivers its per curiam decision in Trump v. New York regarding the 2020 United States census, effectively allowing Trump's July 2020 presidential memorandum to stand, which ordered the Department of Commerce exclude the estimated counts of illegal immigrants. The per curiam decision vacated the U.S District Court's previously ruling on the basis that the case was premature due to lack of standing and ripeness. Justice Stephen Breyer files a dissent, which was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, arguing that the Court should have considered the case.[4]
January 20, 2021: Inauguration Day: Joe Biden to be inaugurated as the 46th President.
Starting on January 25, 2021: The Clerk of the House of Representatives formally notifies each state the number of House seats, and thus indirectly the number of electoral votes, it is entitled to as a result of the 2020 census.[6] Except for those that have one at-large district, each state then proceeds with its redistricting process, depending on whether its state law mandates using an independent commission, a politician commission, or approval by its state legislature.
Early and mid-2021: The "invisible primary," in which presidential hopefuls "test the waters" by attending local events in early primary states, most notably Iowa and New Hampshire, and contacting potential donors, begins. Most have already set up personal political action committees in order to legally raise money for such a venture.[7][8]
Fall 2021: Both Democratic and Republican national committees start the selection process for their national convention sites.
Summer 2022: In the past, both major parties have announced their site selections by this time.
Fall-winter 2022: Major candidates begin publicly announcing the formation of exploratory committees and in rare cases announcing their formal candidacies.
Winter-Spring: A full contingent of major candidates will have likely announced their runs by this time.
Spring: The party out of power begins a series of presidential debates. The earliest one of these took place was on April 26, 2007.[9] The latest took place in May of a following year.
Fall: Candidates begin filing for ballot places.[10]
2024
January-February: For purposes of tradition, the following states have been exempted from the Democratic party's rules limiting the times that these contests may be held:
March 5 (the first Tuesday of March): Super Tuesday, the earliest that a candidate can clinch the nomination. The following states are holding primaries on this day:
Spring: Further primaries. The last time a Republican failed to clinch at the end of the primary season was 1976 and the last a Democrat was 1984, although several others were contested at the conventions.
Summer: Conventions. Tradition states the party that holds the White House goes second.[12]
November 5 (the first Tuesday after November 1): Election Day.
December 10 (at least six days prior to the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December): The "safe harbor" deadline under the Electoral Count Act, where states must finally resolve any controversies over the selection of their electors of the Electoral College.[13]
December 16 (the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December): The electors meet in their respective state capitals (electors for the District of Columbia meet within the district) to formally vote for the president and vice president.[14] The number of states that prohibit faithless electors is subject to change. In 2020, 33 states and DC had such laws.[15]