When Is Election Day?
Election Day 2027 is on Tuesday, November 2 — in 362 days. It is always the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Updated · By the YearlyCalendar.org team
Election Day is the date set by federal law for electing the President, Vice President and members of Congress. Federal general elections are held in even-numbered years; many states also schedule state and local elections on the same Tuesday in odd-numbered years.
November 2027 calendar
Election Day is marked on Tuesday, November 2, 2027, along with the other US federal holidays and observances of the month.
- Federal holiday / day off
- Observance
- Weekend
November 2027 – Election Day 2027
| Wk | SundaySun | MondayMon | TuesdayTue | WednesdayWed | ThursdayThu | FridayFri | SaturdaySat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 1 | 2Election Day | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 45 | 7Daylight saving time ends | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11Veterans Day | 12 | 13 |
| 46 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 47 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25Thanksgiving Day | 26Black Friday | 27 |
| 48 | 28 | 29Cyber Monday | 30 |
Election Day dates 2020–2040
Between 2020 and 2040, Election Day falls as early as November 2 (2021, 2027, 2032, 2038) and as late as November 8 (2022, 2033, 2039). It is always a Tuesday.
How the date was set
- 1845: Congress set "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November" for choosing presidential electors. The first uniform presidential Election Day was Tuesday, November 7, 1848.
- 1872: Congress moved House of Representatives elections to the same Tuesday, starting in 1876.
- 1914: after the Seventeenth Amendment (1913) introduced the popular election of senators, Senate elections were aligned with House elections.
- 2022: the Electoral Count Reform Act moved the definition of the presidential election day into 3 U.S.C. § 21(1); 3 U.S.C. § 1 now says electors are appointed "on election day."
Congressional elections are set by 2 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 7.
Why a Tuesday in November
The traditional explanations, as summarized by the Congressional Research Service: early November fell between the end of the harvest and the onset of winter, which suited a largely farming country. Many voters had to travel overnight to reach a polling place, and Monday voting would have meant traveling on the Sunday Sabbath. Requiring the Tuesday after the first Monday kept Election Day off November 1, a day on which many merchants were said to close their monthly books. As a result, Election Day always falls between November 2 and November 8.
Election cycles
- Presidential elections are held in years divisible by four; the next is on Tuesday, November 7, 2028.
- Midterm elections for all House seats and about one-third of the Senate are held two years after each presidential election; the next is on Tuesday, November 5, 2030.
- States set their own primary dates and may hold state and local elections on other days.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service – Election Day: Frequently Asked Questions
- 3 U.S.C. § 1 – Time of appointing electors (Cornell LII)
- 3 U.S.C. § 21 – Definitions (Cornell LII)
- 4 U.S.C. § 6 – Days to display the flag (Cornell LII)
- 5 U.S.C. § 6103 – Legal public holidays (Cornell LII)
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Federal holidays
Frequently asked questions
When is Election Day 2028?
Election Day 2028 is on Tuesday, November 7, 2028.
Is Election Day a federal holiday?
No. It is not one of the 11 legal public holidays in 5 U.S.C. § 6103, so federal offices, banks, post offices and the New York Stock Exchange keep normal hours.
Can a state change the date of a presidential election?
Only in an emergency. Under 3 U.S.C. § 21(1), a state that chooses its electors by popular vote may extend the period of voting when "force majeure events that are extraordinary and catastrophic" require it; the extended period then counts as election day.
Should the flag be flown at polling places?
Yes. Under 4 U.S.C. § 6, the flag should be displayed in or near every polling place on election days.