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When is the US Presidential Election 2016, and when will we know the results?

When is the US election 2016?
The US presidential election will be held on Tuesday, November 8 but counting will not start until approximately 10am on Wednesday, November 9 (AEDT).

The US election is always held on the first Tuesday after November 1, a law which extends back to 1845.

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The US electoral college - explained with M&Ms;

We use M&Ms; to illustrate how the complexity of the US electoral college system could derail the popular vote - again.

​What is the United States Electoral College?
It is the body that directly votes for the president. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump will be directly elected president on November 8. It is the electoral college that votes for the president. There are 538 members in the college with 270 needed for a majority.

Each state is given an elector to match their House and Senate numbers in Congress. California has 55 (two senators plus 53 members from the House of Representatives) while no state has less than three. The District of Columbia has no congressional representation but has three electors.

All but two states award their votes on a winner-takes-all basis - that means all college votes go to the candidate chosen by the people in those states. Nebraska and Maine award a vote to the winner in each of their congressional districts, with the remaining two votes awarded to the overall state winner.

When will we know the results of the US election?
A formal result may not be known until 3pm when the polls in Alaska close. If Donald Trump is to win, the result could be known shortly after 1pm. If it's a Hillary Clinton victory, she will most likely need to wait until California is called after 2pm to pass the 270 threshold.

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The results in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina will be known around lunchtime and if Clinton wins one of those states then Trump is most likely out of the race.

Who will win the US election?
There is only one poll that counts and that is on voting day. Most polls indicate Clinton is in front but the gap is closing. According to the RealClearPolitics​ poll average, Clinton has dropped 1.5 percentage points since mid-October while Trump has gained nearly four.

What happens after the US presidential election?
The electoral college meets in each state capital which is always on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. In this election cycle it will be December 19. The result of their votes in each state will be sealed and sent to Congress. 

Can a member of the electoral college vote against the candidate to whom they are pledged to vote?
It is rare, but yes. These members are called "faithless electors". In 29 states, plus the District of Columbia, there are penalties for a member of the electoral college who votes against their pledged candidate. The last time it occurred was in Minnesota in 2004 when a pledged vote for Democrat candidate John Kerry was given to his running mate John Edwards.

When will the winner of the election be announced?
The formal announcement of the winner of the US election will occur on January 6, 2017 after a joint-sitting of Congress counts the electoral college votes. The announcement will be made by the President of the Senate. If no candidate reaches 270 votes then the House of Representatives will elect the president by a special majority vote from the top three vote getters in the electoral college. On such an occasion, the House will vote by state, with each allocated a vote. 

If no vice-president receives 270 electoral college votes, then the Senate will decide. 

When does the new president take office? 
The incumbent cannot stand for re-election in 2016, so the winner on November 8 will take office until noon on January 20, 2017 when President Barack Obama's term finishes.

How can I follow the US election in Australia?
Several pay-TV and free-to-air channels will stream coverage of the election throughout the day which falls on November 9 in Australia. Fairfax Media websites will provide 24-hour coverage on the day.

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