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2026 date November 3 (Details <br />Frequency Biennial (annual if including off -years) <br />Election Day in the United States is the annual day for general <br />elections of federal public officials. It is statutorily set by the U.S. government as "the <br />Tuesday next after the first Monday in November",u i.e. the Tuesday that occurs within <br />November 2 to November 8. <br />For federal offices (president, vice president, and United States Congress) and most <br />gubernatorial offices (all except for Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and <br />Virginia), Election Day occurs only in even -numbered years. Presidential elections are <br />held every four years, in years divisible by four, in which electors for president and vice <br />president are chosen according to the method determined by each state. Elections to <br />the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are held every two years; all <br />representatives are elected to serve two-year terms and are up for election every two <br />years, while senators serve six -year terms, staggered so that one third of senators are <br />elected in any given general election. General elections in which presidential candidates <br />are not on the ballot are referred to as midterm elections. Terms for those elected begin <br />in January the following year; the president and vice president are inaugurated (sworn <br />in) on Inauguration Day, which is usually January 20. <br />Many state and local government offices are also elected on Election Day as a matter of <br />convenience and cost saving, although a handful of states hold elections for state <br />offices (such as governor) during odd -numbered off years, or during other even - <br />numbered midterm years, and may hold special elections for offices that have become <br />vacant. Congress has mandated a uniform date for presidential (3 U.S.C. §) and <br />congressional (2 U.S.C. §1 and 2 U.S.C. §7) elections, though early voting is <br />nonetheless authorized in many states, and states also have mail voting procedures. <br />The fact that Election Day falls on a Tuesday has become controversial in recent <br />decades, as many people might be unable to vote because they have to work. It is <br />a public holiday in some states, <br />including Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, New Jersey, New <br />York, Vir inia, West Virginia, as well as the territory of the Northern Mariana <br />Islands and Puerto Rico. Some other states require that workers be permitted to take <br />time off with pay. California requires that employees otherwise unable to vote must be <br />allowed two hours off with pay, at the beginning or end of a shift. A federal <br />holiday called Democracy Day, to coincide with Election Day, has been proposed, and <br />some have proposed moving election day to the weekend.0 Other movements in <br />the IT and automotive industries encourage employers to voluntarily give their <br />employees paid time off on Election Day. <br />History[edit] <br />By 1792, federal law permitted each state legislature to choose Presidential <br />electors any time within a 34-day periodu before the first Wednesday in December.0 A <br />