20 Things To Know Before The 2020 Election

The 2020 Presidential Election is rapidly approaching and it seems to be the biggest topic of conversation at every dinner party. Whether you’ve worked in politics for years or this is going to be your first time voting, there are tons of fun facts and knowledge to know about the current and past presidential elections that you can impress your party guests with. 

1. This will be the 59th Presidential Election in American History. 

2. If Trump is re-elected he will still be the 45th President, but if somebody else wins, they will become the 46th President. 

3. There were initially way more candidates than what meets the eye. You may have heard names like Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, and Bernie Sanders but there are actually over 200 Democrats that have filed to run in 2020 (as well as 84 Republicans and 25 Libertarians). 

4. In order to qualify for a debate, a Democratic candidate must get around 5% support in polling (this changes from debate to debate). 

5. For the general election debate a candidate must get 15% support in polling, this means that a third-party candidate could qualify for a debate against the Democratic and Republican nominee, if they rally enough support. 

6. Only 10 presidents have ran for re-election and not won (including Grover Cleveland, who ended up serving a second term later on). If President Trump does not win the re-election he will become the 11th president to only serve one term. 

7. Even though President Trump has been impeached, he has not been removed from office, which means he’s still eligible to run for re-election. If he wins, he will be the first ever impeached president to win his re-election.

8. Five candidates in history have won the popular vote but not the electoral college. Andrew Jackson in 1824 (to John Quincy Adams); Samuel Tilden in 1876 (to Rutherford B. Hayes); Grover Cleveland in 1888 (to Benjamin Harrison); Al Gore in 2000 (to George W. Bush); and most recently, Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

9.  George Washington is the only president that has been elected unanimously

10. The largest landslide victory (after Washington) was James Monroe, who won 99.57% of the electoral votes

11. James Monroe only lost by one electoral vote. This is because an elector in New Hampshire wanted George Washington to be the only president elected unanimously. 

12. Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for president in 1872, nearly 50 years before women won the right to vote.

13. However, Hillary Clinton was the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party ticket in 2016.

14. Grover Cleveland is the only president to have served two non-consecutive terms. He won his first election in 1884, lost his re-election in 1888 and then won a second term in 1892. 

15. Over 200 women have run for President of the United States.

16. Cleveland hasn’t been the only president to try serving non-consecutive terms. Theodore Roosevelt ran for a third term after William Taft’s first term in office. 

17. American astronauts can vote in elections from orbit by secure email.

18. It wasn’t until 1856 that Congress removed property ownership as a requirement to vote in elections.

19. This year will be the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, which means it will be the 26th presidential election that women can vote in.

20. In 1845, Congress moved Election Day to the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November. November was decided upon because it would be late enough in the season to not interfere with planting or harvesting season for farmers, but was early enough that people would still be able to travel into town before the harsh winter arrived. This year, the election is on November 3rd. 

Regardless of who you and your friends and family choose to cast your ballot for, these fun facts about the US Presidential Election are sure to delight all kinds of crowds.