United States presidential election determines who serves as president and vice president of the United States for a four-year term, starting at midday on Inauguration Day, which is January 20 of the year after the election. The elections are conducted by the various states and not by the federal government.
The presidential election occurs quadrennially. The most recent election occurred on November 2 2004. The next election is scheduled for November 4 2008. Elections are held on Election Day—the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every fourth year.
Constitutionally, the election is by United States Electoral College electors, who are chosen by methods each state individually establishes. The electors can vote for anyone, but—with rare exceptions—they vote for the designated candidates and their votes are certified by Congress in early January. The Congress is the final judge of the electors; the last serious dispute was in 1877.
