Editor's Note: (A version of this story was published October 18, 2020. )
(CNN) President Donald Trump tried to declare victory in the presidential election early Wednesday.
But he hasn't won, because all the votes haven't been counted -- and in some ways, the process is just getting started.
While Americans vote on or before Election Day, picking the US president is actually a months-long process and the election is just one step.
The system is especially confusing because voters only cast ballots to determine which candidate gets to send a handpicked group of allies known as electors to the Electoral College, where the actual presidential vote takes place. (Here's a refresher on that.)
The whole timeline is below.