Once every 4 years, Americans vote in presidential elections, and the U.S. Constitution established many of the rules and requirements for these elections, including basic qualifications for presidents and vice presidents, the Electoral College, and state selection of presidential electors.  

Elections for members of the U.S. Congress occur every 2 years, and Congressional elections coincide with Presidential elections in 2024 and are called "midterms" between Presidential election years. Each 2 year period is known as an "election cycle." The U.S. House of Representatives members, known as Representatives, have elections every cycle, and the U.S. Senate members, known as Senators, have roughly one-third of the members elected each cycle. Representatives have 2-year terms, and Senators have 6-year terms.

Resources for choosing between federal candidates:

• Newspapers and News Sources available through Stanford Libraries;
• VOTE411, from the League of Women Voters;
• Sample Ballot Tool from Ballotpedia, a wiki site for American politics;
• CSPAN: Campaign 2024, a nonprofit news organization created and supported by cable television; and
• VoteSmart, a nonprofit, nonpartisan voter education organization.

While elections and voting are generally state, territory, and local matters, the federal Department of Justice monitors elections to ensure compliance with civil rights and oversight laws. Detailed information on the federal Voting Rights Act, materials in non-English languages, accommodations for individuals with disabilities, voter intimidation, military and overseas voting, and much more is available on the Voting Rights Policy and Guidance webpage from the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. DOJ has a helpful Know Your Voting Rights guide, and possible federal voting rights violations can be reported by phone at (800) 253-3931 or on the Civil Rights Division website.

The Election Protection Hotline staffs the following phone lines throughout the year and on Election Day, with partners as identified below:

• English: 866-OUR-VOTE – Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law;
• Spanish/English: 888-VE-Y-VOTA – NALEO Educational Fund;
• Arabic/English: 844-YALLA-US – Arab American Institute (AAI); and
• Asian Languages/English: 888-API-VOTE – APIAVote & Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC).