--- title: Election Day 2016: When Is Election Day, How to Vote description: Election Day is just around the corner—here's everything you need to know about how to register and cast your vote canonical: https://time.com/4531460/election-day-2016/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-14T17:38:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:12:34.735Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's Everything You Need to Know About Election Day og:description: Nov. 8 is just around the corner og:url: https://time.com/4531460/election-day-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9df8475d57bd383/6988aa0ce20a87cf9ca92c9e/trump-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-TRUMP-CLINTON og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Everything You Need to Know About Election Day twitter:description: Nov. 8 is just around the corner twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9df8475d57bd383/6988aa0ce20a87cf9ca92c9e/trump-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Everything You Need to Know About Election Day 2016 by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Oct 14, 2016 5:38 PM UTC  TOPSHOT - This combination of file photos shows the silhouettes of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump(R)July 18, 2016 and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on February 4, 2016\. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump prepared to square off September 26, 2016 in their first presidential debate -- a keenly awaited clash that comes as they sit nearly neck and neck in the polls. The debate, which is expected to be watched by tens of millions of Americans, could draw a record number of viewers when it kicks off at 9:00 pm EST (0100 GMT Tuesday). / AFP / DESK (Photo credit should read DESK/AFP/Getty Images) TOPSHOT - This combination of file photos shows the silhouettes of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump(R)July 18, 2016 and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on February 4, 2016\. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump prepared to square off September 26, 2016 in their first presidential debate -- a keenly awaited clash that comes as they sit nearly neck and neck in the polls. The debate, which is expected to be watched by tens of millions of Americans, could draw a record number of viewers when it kicks off at 9:00 pm EST (0100 GMT Tuesday). / AFP / DESK (Photo credit should read DESK/AFP/Getty Images)AFP/Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Oct 14, 2016 5:38 PM UTC With [Election Day](http://time.com/4521253/why-election-day-tuesday/) coming up soon, many Americans are wondering about the basics of registering to vote, hitting the polls and casting a ballot in the presidential race, which pits Republican [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4531408/donald-trump-voters-guide/) against Democrat [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4527825/poll-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-post-debate/). Here are answers to some of those questions: **When Is Election Day?** Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 8 this year. **How Do You Register to Vote?** Each state has different [registration deadlines](http://time.com/4443588/register-vote-voter-state-laws/) and requirements, but a simple Google search of [“how to vote”](http://time.com/4452833/search-how-to-vote-google/) will point you in the right direction, as the search engine has added an enhanced voter registration feature. **Where Is Your Nearest Polling Place?** Searching [“where to vote”](https://blog.google/products/search/get-polling-place-and-ballot-information-quickly-and-easily/) on Google will point you to your nearest polling place, thanks to another enhanced search feature. **Do You Need to Bring Anything to the Polls?** It depends on the state, but check with your local secretary of state or elections board. Many states require voters to carry a form of photo identification with them to the polls. **If the Election Were Held Today, Who Would Win?** Clinton is currently ahead of Trump, based on electoral projections that use the latest state-by-state polling data. You can view a map of those projections [here](http://time.com/4508467/election-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-map/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4531460/election-day-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4531460/election-day-2016/"},"headline":"Here's Everything You Need to Know About Election Day 2016","datePublished":"2016-10-14T17:38:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:12:34.735Z","description":"Nov. 8 is just around the corner","url":"https://time.com/4531460/election-day-2016/","keywords":["2016 Election","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Donald Trump","election day"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9df8475d57bd383/6988aa0ce20a87cf9ca92c9e/trump-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9df8475d57bd383/6988aa0ce20a87cf9ca92c9e/trump-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-TRUMP-CLINTON","caption":"TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-TRUMP-CLINTON","creditText":"AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4531460/election-day-2016/","name":"Here's Everything You Need to Know About Election Day 2016"}}]}] ```