Why is the US election on a Tuesday in November? What to know, in 500 words

Across Latin America, it usually falls on a Sunday. In India, it can span weeks given the country’s vast territory. And in the Middle East, Saturday is frequently the pivotal day.

But in the United States, every four years, votes for president are cast on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the month of November.

And this year is no different: Millions of Americans will head to the polls on November 5 to vote for either Democratic President Joe Biden or his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.

Yet, despite the country’s long history of holding presidential contests in early November, what is less widely known is why or how that tradition got started.

But before we get into that, you first need to know what system was in place before US presidential elections were held on a single date nationwide.

Up until the mid-1800s, election dates varied by US state, so long as they were scheduled in the weeks before the Electoral College met in December.

In 1844, for example, the presidential election was held over a one-month period between early November and early December.

Some critics said the system was inefficient and worried that holding votes on different dates could also influence the results, according to History.com.