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It’s 2020, and that means it is a presidential election year. Regardless if you are a republican, democrat, or third-party supporter, election years are always eventful and historical. Many events happen during the election cycle, and if one does not follow politics attentively, it can be confusing for them to understand and follow. The events consist of party debates, campaigning, caucuses, primaries, conventions, general election debates, and then finally, the election itself. The purpose of this post to give a better understanding of what to look forward to for the 2020 election.

Let us begin with the political party debate. Throughout 2019 the democrat nominees have battled it out on stage. The DNC, Democrat National Committee, sponsors their debates, and the RNC, Republican National Committee, sponsors the republican debates. Each DNC and RNC have their own set of rules, and these rules often change. The point of these debates is to learn about each candidate’s plan and policies; their goal is to win over the party’s base. There are 12 scheduled democratic debates for the 2020 election. They started in June 2019 and will end in April 2020. There was only one republican debate scheduled that was in September 2019.

The official kickoff of 2020 is the Iowa caucus, which happened on February 3, 2020. The DNC runs the democrat caucus, and the RNC runs the republican caucus. The participants gather at precedents or selected local areas: the candidate’s supporters and the undecided divide into groups. Supporters give speeches about each candidate to try to convince others to support their candidate. When determining the delegates for the candidates, it is all based on the number of the group’s voters. Unlike caucuses, many states have primary voting, which means each primary may have different rules depending on the state. Primaries are usually closed or open. If it is closed, your voter registration must contain that political party in order to vote for that party in the primary. If it is open, that means you can vote any party regardless of what you are registered. This method allows American citizens to vote for their choice for the nominee of the party. This process ends on June 7, 2020.

Polling, campaigning, and rallies are the most popular occurrence you will see during an election year. Polling gives the candidates, experts, and the public an idea of who the citizens most likely to support. However, the polls can go up down on daily bases. Campaigning is the adds consistently on TV, radio, and the internet for months. Countless brochures will be distributed in the mail, and you get calls, emails, and house visits asking for support. There is usually a local campaign office setup throughout each state for volunteers to lend a helping hand. Rallies, on the other hand, can pop up any moment in any state; it is a very educational way to learn about the candidate. Typically, local politicians of the same party will participate in these rallies. Depending on the candidate their maybe two supporters at one, and another rally may have 10,000 supporters.

The most significant event besides the election itself would be the conventions; they happen every presidential election year. This year they will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 13, 2020 –July 16, 2020, the Democrat National convention will take place. The Republican National Convention will happen in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 24, 2020 –August 27, 2020. Finally, time to pick a nominee for the party, which is usually the candidate that won the majority of the delegates during the primary season. In rare cases, the party may not have anyone popular candidate; the delegates take control of choosing the nominee if no one won the delegate majority during primaries, which are also referred to as a contested convention. Delegates consist of bound/pledge means their job is to support the candidate who won their state. On the other hand, superdelegates/ unpledged delegates can choose whomever they decide the nominee. Another huge pick during convention week is choosing a running mate for vice president who is chosen by the presidential nominee.

The general debate will be the next step after each of the political parties determine their nominees. Usually must-watch TV, both nominees will debate the policy platforms of their political agenda and try to convince viewers to vote for them. The debates will take place in Indiana at the University of Notre Dame on September 29, 2020, Michigan, at the University of Michigan on October 15, 2020, Tennessee Belmont University, on October 22, 2020. The Vice-presidential debate will take place in Utah at the University of Utah on October 7, 2020.

Finally, November 3, 2020, election day has come! Time to do your civic duty and vote. Then like most Americans, wait with anticipation all day for the results that night! Unlike other countries, the popular vote does not determine the winner of the election, but the electoral college determines the winner. The reason being the founding fathers did not think it was fair to the rest of the nation only to have highly populated cities determining national elections. Each state has a certain amount of electors; the electors of the state are determined by how many representatives and senators a state has in congress. 538 is the total number of electors for the entire country; the goal of the winner is to get to 270. The way the electoral college is structured proves every vote count. The candidate with the popular vote in each state receives the electoral votes from the state. After the winner is selected, each candidate will come out to greet their supporters with either an acceptance speech or concession speech. On January 20, 2021, it will be inauguration day for the president-elect will become the president of the United States; it is the day that goes down in history with events such as the swearing-in ceremony, the parade, balls, and speeches that night.

Hopefully, you a better insight into what is to expect in the political world in 2020. Download our political app today for detailed information about all things politics.

Sources:

Muldoon, Erienne. Calendar of Upcoming 2020 Presidential Election Events. Jan. 22, 2020.

Calendar of Upcoming 2020 Presidential Election Events

Montellaro, Zach and Shepard, Steven. General-election debate schedule revealed for 2020. Oct.11, 2019.https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/11/2020-presidential-debate-schedule-revealed-044525

National Archives. What is the Electoral College?.

https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about

USA.GOV. Presidential Election Process. https://www.usa.gov/election