The next U.S. general election falls on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Here's the live count:
As of October 22, 2026, there are 12 days until Election Day.
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For federal offices, Election Day in the United States is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. That mouthful of a rule means the date can fall anywhere from November 2 to November 8, and it guarantees the election never lands on November 1. This page works out the date for this year and next and counts down to the one still ahead of you — in 2026, that's Tuesday, November 3, a midterm election.
Congress set the date in 1845, when America was a farming nation and the choice was pure logistics. Sunday was a day of worship and rest, and polling places were usually at the county seat — a trip that could take a full day by horse and wagon. Voters needed a travel day after Sunday, so Monday was out too, and Wednesday was market day in many towns, when farmers sold their produce. Tuesday was the first workable day. November was picked for the same practical reasons: the harvest was in, but the harsh winter weather that would close roads hadn't yet arrived. The "after the first Monday" clause kept Election Day off November 1, a holy day (All Saints' Day) for many and the day merchants settled their books for the month.
Every two years, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are on the ballot, along with roughly a third of the Senate — senators serve six-year terms, staggered so the classes rotate — and most states elect their governor. Every fourth year is a presidential election, when the presidency is added to that list, along with the state-level races for legislatures, judges, and ballot measures that often affect daily life more than anything decided in Washington. The elections in between, like 2026, are the midterms, held halfway through a president's term and usually read as a verdict on it. Whichever kind of year it is, the date comes from the same rule, so this countdown rolls straight from one to the next.
Do I have to vote on Election Day itself? Usually not. Most states offer early in-person voting, no-excuse absentee or mail ballots, or both, in the weeks before Election Day — the countdown above is to the deadline, not the only chance. Check your state's rules and your registration well ahead of time, because registration deadlines in many states fall in October, weeks before the vote.
Is Election Day a federal holiday? No, though a number of states treat it as a state holiday or require employers to give workers time off to vote. Polls typically close between 6 and 9 p.m. local time, varying by state and sometimes by county.
When is the next presidential election? Tuesday, November 7, 2028. The winner is sworn in the following January 20, as every president has been since 1937.
The "first Tuesday after the first Monday" rule is easier to follow with real calendars. In 2026, November 1 is a Sunday, so the first Monday is November 2 and Election Day is the next day, Tuesday, November 3. In 2027, November 1 is itself a Monday, which makes Election Day Tuesday, November 2 — the earliest date the rule can ever produce. In 2028, the first Monday is November 6, so the presidential election falls on Tuesday, November 7. The latest possible date is November 8, which happens when November 1 falls on a Tuesday. When this year's election passes, this page rolls forward on its own to the next one — Tuesday, November 2, 2027 — and keeps counting.
Election Day is the deadline, but the season around it has its own calendar, and the details vary by state. Registration closes first — about a month ahead in most states. In Texas, where this site is run from, the 2026 dates looked like this: the last day to register was Monday, October 5; applications for a mail ballot had to reach election officials by Friday, October 23; early in-person voting ran from Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 30; and on Election Day itself, Texas polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Your state's dates will differ in detail but follow the same shape — registration about a month out, early voting in the final two weeks — so check your state election office or VoteTexas.gov-style official site well before the countdown gets short. If you've moved, changed your name, or haven't voted in years, confirm your registration is still current; that check takes two minutes in September and is a much bigger problem on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
What about primaries, runoffs, and local elections? Those dates are set by the states and the parties, not by the 1845 federal rule, and they scatter across the calendar — primaries mostly in spring and summer, runoffs a few weeks after the race they settle, and some city and school elections in May or other off-cycle months. This countdown tracks the November general election, which is the one date every state shares.
Why not move Election Day to a weekend, or make it a holiday? Proposals to do one or the other surface in Congress regularly, usually on the argument that a workday election suppresses turnout among hourly workers; the counterarguments are tradition, cost, and the spread of early and mail voting, which has already moved much of the actual voting off the day itself. As of 2026 the 1845 arrangement stands — which is why so many states lean on the early-voting window described above.
Ever wonder why the date is worded so strangely? Why Election Day Is the First Tuesday After the First Monday tells the 1845 story — harvests, market day, and a day's ride to the county seat.