Timeline and Duties of a President-Elect

Timeline and Duties of a President-Elect

A Look at What Happens from Election Day until Inauguration Day

When the election is over,

many people are wondering what happens between the time when the new president is selected and when they are sworn in on Inauguration Day.

Multiple Choice

Who is our projected President-Elect?

• Donald Trump

• Joe Biden

Once all the ballots are tallied up on election day,

the winning candidate becomes known as the president-elect until they officially take office as the president on January 20.

Before the President-Elect moves in, there are many things that still need to take place.

Although the president-elect is not official until early January,

they must spend the majority of their time between Election Day and Inauguration Day appointing different positions and in general preparing for the transition of power.

Multiple Choice

When is the President-Elect finally official?

• November 3rd

• 2022

• Early January

• December 25th

Both the sitting President and the President-Elect need their own transition teams to organize everything.

In fact, a law enacted by Congress requires the sitting President to establish transition councils be June of an election year.

As a Presidential candidate,

the nominees of each major political party have already been receiving trainings since the summer conventions (gatherings/meetings).

This practice will continue after the President-Elect is chosen by the public on Election Day all the way until Inauguration Day in January, but the pace of the briefings intensifies.

The sitting President

-Sets up briefings/meetings for the party nominees, so that they can fully understand the duties of being Commander-in-Chief.

-Even after becoming the President-Elect, the candidate will not receive all the same information that the sitting President receives.

-Details about covert operations and sensitive nuclear programs are not usually part of these briefings and are saved until the President-Elect's term begins.

Early November: Select White House Staffers

Chief of Staff

-The Chief of Staff position, as the most important, will be filled immediately after the Election

-he will use his expertise to select the rest of the White House staffers in the following month.

Thanksgiving to Christmas:

Form the Presidential Cabinet

The Cabinet

-The President-Elect must fill the Cabinet with experienced leaders from across the country who must have a combination of executive experience, policy expertise, partisan credentials, and usually personal loyalty to the President

-These Cabinet members symbolize the President-Elect's priorities, represent demographic groups, and garner the support of the department they will lead.

December through the First 200 Days in Office:

Fill Other Miscellaneous Government Positions

The Other Jobs

Once these key positions have been filled, there are still 3,000-6,000 other federal government positions that the President and his team need to fill as soon as possible.

Many of these positions are subject to congressional approval, which means that the process can take months and sometimes years.

The first 1,000 positions should be filled by August when the President-Elect has now been in office for approximately 200 days, but the process begins as soon as the Senior Staff and Cabinet are chosen.

Mid-December: 

Electors Cast Their Ballots

Electors

-The Electors that are chosen on Election Day meet in their state and vote for the President and Vice President on separate ballots.

-The Electors then sign, seal, and certify six sets of Electoral Votes, which are distributed to important figures in the government, including the President of the Senate, whose main title is the sitting Vice President.

Inauguration Day:

Take Oaths of Office

The Most Important Thing

-The most important thing a President-Elect does occurs on Inauguration Day when he assumes his role as President of the United States.

-The Inauguration marks the beginning of the new Presidency on January 20.

After being sworn in,

the new President gives a speech called the Inaugural Address, which allows them to communicate their vision to the citizens of our country and to the world.

This tradition dates all the way back to George Washington, who gave his Inaugural Address, the shortest in our history, in 1789.

Inauguration Day: Moving into the White House

During the ceremony,

Capitol Hill, the new First Family is officially moved into their new home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The permanent White House staff, comprised of chefs, maids, and many other essential positions to the functioning of the home itself, must say goodbye to the outgoing family only five hours before welcoming their new residents.

During the two-month period between Election Day and Inauguration Day,

the President-Elect must plan his new administration for the four years to come.

A smooth transfer of power from one President to the next during this time is a symbol of American democracy, continuity, and change, and these two months are necessary and important to a peaceful transition.