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 7: Joe Biden is declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election by a consensus of major news outlets projecting the results.[1]
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.[2]
January 6, 2021: 2021 United States Capitol attack: Trump supporters attacked and stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop the counting of the electoral votes. Trump was later impeached but acquitted for his role in the events, maintaining his eligibility for a non-consecutive reelection bid.
January 20, 2021: Inauguration Day: Joe Biden is inaugurated as president.
June 26, 2021: First of a series of campaign-style rallies starring former President Donald Trump.'[4]
November 20, 2021: President Biden and some of his aides inform some allies he is running in 2024. [5]
2022
January 19, 2022: President Biden confirms Vice President Kamala Harris will be his running mate if he runs for re-election in 2024.[6]
February 27, 2022: Former President Donald Trump wins the 2022 CPAC straw poll by over 30 points.[7]
March 8, 2022:Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic Party presidential nominee, declares that she will not run in 2024.[8]
March 10, 2022:Corey Stapleton, former Secretary of State of Montana, announces the formation of a formal exploratory committee in preparation for a possible run for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party.[9]
March 16, 2022: Donald Trump announces if he is to run, his former Vice President Mike Pence will not be his running mate, and if so, he would be the first person since Gerald Fordto pick a different person other than his first vice president as his running mate.[10]
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.[12]
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.[13] The number of states that prohibit faithless electors is subject to change. In 2020, 33 states and DC had such laws.[14]
2024 U.S. presidential election