US 2028 Presidential Election

What this countdown tracks

Americans will vote for the 48th president and vice president on Tuesday, November 7, 2028, alongside all 435 US House seats, 33 Senate seats, and roughly a dozen governorships. Electoral College electors will cast their ballots on December 18, 2028, and Congress will certify the result on January 6, 2029 under the revised Electoral Count Reform Act.

Background

With Donald Trump constitutionally barred from a third term under the 22nd Amendment, the 2028 race will be the first presidential election since 2016 without an incumbent on the ballot — assuming no unusual succession scenario during the 2025–2029 term. Vice President JD Vance sits as the presumed Republican frontrunner while the Democratic field was still consolidating through the 2026 midterm cycle. The DNC's 2024 calendar reordering put South Carolina first among sanctioned Democratic primaries, with New Hampshire and Iowa continuing to fight for their traditional lead-off roles. The Republican calendar retains Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina as the "early four," with Super Tuesday on March 7, 2028. Wikipedia's timeline of the 2028 election is tracking filing deadlines, candidate announcements, and the national conventions — the Republican National Convention is slated for mid-July 2028 (host city still in selection as of early 2026) and the Democratic National Convention for late August. The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 raises objection thresholds in Congress and narrows the Vice President's ministerial role, changing how any contested 2028 certification would play out compared with 2020. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, formalized the two-term limit that George Washington established by custom in 1796 and that Franklin Roosevelt broke in 1940 and 1944.

Why the date matters

Federal law fixes presidential elections on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of a year divisible by four; in 2028 that falls on November 7. The 12th Amendment and the Electoral Count Reform Act then set December 18, 2028 for electors to vote in their state capitals, December 25, 2028 as the "safe harbor" certification deadline, and January 6, 2029 for the joint session of Congress to count electoral votes. Inauguration is set by the 20th Amendment for noon on January 20, 2029. The 1845 Presidential Election Day Act, enacted when the nation was predominantly agrarian, fixed the uniform national date to prevent earlier-voting states from influencing later ones — a concern that survives in modern form through the prohibition on releasing exit-poll results before polls close.

What to watch for

• Which candidates file with the FEC before the end of 2027, marking the formal candidate field.
• Super PAC fundraising totals for 2027 Q3 and Q4, typically the first serious money indicator.
• Presidential debate commission(s) and whether RNC and DNC nominees agree on any sanctioned debates.
• State-level ballot access challenges, particularly in jurisdictions that litigated in 2024.
• Vote-by-mail and early-voting rules set by state legislatures before summer 2028.
• Any faithless-elector movements heading into the December 18, 2028 meeting.
• Joint session certification procedure under the 2022 Electoral Count Reform Act.
• Swing-state early voting and same-day registration rules in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, and Georgia.
• Vice-presidential selection announcements timed to the summer convention cycles.

Electoral mechanics

The 2028 election will be the first open-seat contest since 2016 and the third in the post-ECRA regime. Under the Electoral Count Reform Act, objections to electoral-vote certification now require one-fifth of each chamber to sponsor, replacing the prior one-member threshold. The Vice President's role in the January 6, 2029 joint session is explicitly ministerial, resolving ambiguity that drew attention in 2021. Safe-harbor certification under 3 U.S.C. § 5 is now December 18, 2028 — the same day as the Electoral College meeting — meaning states must resolve disputes at least six days before the electors vote. The ECRA also requires governors to transmit certified slates, narrowing any theoretical path for competing slates absent a court-ordered tie.

Related events to track

The general election is the culmination of a nominating cycle that begins with the Iowa GOP Caucus 2028 in January and runs through the summer conventions, shaped by the US 2026 Midterm Elections two years earlier. Records transparency around the outgoing administration also opens that same cycle with the Trump 45 records FOIA eligibility on January 20, 2028.

FAQ

When exactly is the 2028 US presidential election? Tuesday, November 7, 2028, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November as fixed by federal law.

Is the election date confirmed or expected? Confirmed by federal statute; the date is not subject to change without congressional action, and no such legislation is pending.

Who is responsible for running the 2028 election? State chief elections officials administer balloting; the Electoral College meets in state capitals; Congress certifies the result in joint session.

Where can I read the full election timeline? Wikipedia tracks the consolidated calendar at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2028_United_States_presidential_election.