Everything You Need to Know Before Election Day

January 10, 2020

Sure, you can argue that THE only real important date in the election this year is Election Day itself: November 3rd. But if you really want to be informed and do your part, other dates matter as well. It’s all part of the political process.

Every Thursday, from now until November 3, look for our Instagram posts regarding Election Day. We’ll be posting an update on the presidential campaign along with a countdown. The goal isn’t simply to inform you that Election Day is drawing nearer, it’s to motivate you to do your part this year.

Every Thursday, look for our Instagram posts regarding Election Day 2020. You’ll see not only updates, but also a countdown. For example, “200 days until Election Day.” That number isn’t there simply to inform you. It’s there to motivate you. It doesn’t just mean you only have 200 more days until you vote. It means you ONLY have 200 more days to decide who you want to vote for and do something about it: volunteer on a campaign, donate, register your neighbors to vote, educate yourself about issues, etc. Your duty as a U.S. citizen requires more than just voting.

(Side note: do you want to know which Democratic candidate you most align with on the main issues? Take the quiz here. Currently, there is no major candidate running against the current president so there isn’t a Republican version of the quiz.)

Key Dates in the 2020 Election

As each primary/caucus approaches, we’ll shed more light on the importance of each in our Instagram updates.

Without further delay, here are all the key 2020 election dates in one place.

2020 Debates


Jan. 14 Des Moines	Seventh Democratic primary debate; Co-hosted by CNN and The Des Moines Register at Drake University.
Feb. 7 Manchester, NH	Eighth Democratic primary debate; Co-hosted by ABC, WMUR and Apple News at St. Anselm College.
Feb. 19 Las Vegas	Ninth Democratic primary debate; Co-hosted by NBC News, MSNBC and The Nevada Independent.
Feb. 25 Charleston, SC	Tenth Democratic primary debate; Co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute at The Gaillard Center.
March	Eleventh Democratic primary debate, details TBD
April	Twelfth Democratic primary debate, details TBD
Sept. 29 Notre Dame, IN.	First presidential debate; University of Notre Dame
Oct. 7 Salt Lake City	Vice presidential debate; University of Utah
Oct. 15 Ann Arbor	Second presidential debate; University of Michigan
Oct. 22 Nashville	Third presidential debate; Belmont University

2020 Primaries and Caucuses

February 2020	DEMOCRATIC	REPUBLICAN
3 Monday	Iowa caucuses	41	40
11 Tuesday	New Hampshire primaries	24	22
22 Saturday	Nevada Democratic caucuses	36
29 Saturday	South Carolina Democratic primary	54

March 2020	DEMOCRATIC	REPUBLICAN
3 (Super Tuesday)	Alabama primaries	52	50
	American Samoa Democratic caucus	6
	Arkansas primaries	31	40
	California primariesBecause it has the largest delegate trove in the country, California is key to Super Tuesday.	415	172
	Colorado primaries	67	34
	Maine primaries	24	22
	Massachusetts primaries	91	41
	Minnesota primaries	75	39
	North Carolina primaries	110	71
	Oklahoma primaries	37	43
	Tennessee primaries	64	58
	Texas primaries	228	155
	Utah primaries	29	40
	Vermont primaries	16	17
	Virginia Democratic primary	99
	Democrats Abroad primary	13
10 Tuesday	Idaho primaries	20	32
	Michigan primaries	125	73
	Mississippi primaries	36	40
	Missouri primaries	68	54
	North Dakota Democratic caucuses	14
	Washington primaries	89	44
12 Thursday	Virgin Islands Republican caucus		6
14 Saturday	Guam Republican caucus		6
	Northern Marianas Democratic convention	6
	Wyoming Republican conventions		26
17 Tuesday	Arizona Democratic primary	67
	Florida primaries	219	122
	Illinois primaries	155	67
	Northern Marianas Republican convention		9
	Ohio primaries	136	82
21 Saturday	Kentucky Republican caucuses		46
24 Tuesday	American Samoa Republican caucus		6
	Georgia primaries	105	76
29 Sunday	Puerto Rico Democratic primary	51

April 2020	DEMOCRATIC	REPUBLICAN
4 Saturday	Alaska Democratic primary	15
	Hawaii Democratic primary	24
	Louisiana primaries	54	46
	Wyoming Democratic caucuses	14
7 Tuesday	Wisconsin primaries	84	52
28 Tuesday	Connecticut primaries	60	28
	Delaware primaries	21	16
	Maryland primaries	96	38
	New York primaries	274	95
	Pennsylvania primaries	186	34
	Rhode Island primaries	26	19

May 2020	DEMOCRATIC	REPUBLICAN
2 Saturday	Guam Democratic caucus	7
	Kansas Democratic primary	39
5 Tuesday	Indiana primaries	82	58
12 Tuesday	Nebraska primaries	29	36
	West Virginia primaries	28	34
19 Tuesday	Kentucky Democratic primary	54
	Oregon primaries	61	28

June 2020	DEMOCRATIC	REPUBLICAN
2 Tuesday	District of Columbia primaries	20	19
	Montana primaries	19	27
	New Jersey primaries	126	49
	New Mexico primaries	34	22
	South Dakota primaries	16	29
6 Saturday	Virgin Islands Democratic caucuses	7
7 Sunday	Puerto Rico Republican primary		23