( CNN ) -- The finish line is almost here . Americans have weighed a plethora of questions in choosing their presidential candidate . But amid the quadrennial explosion of political ads , bumper stickers and debates , some questions still baffle : Why is the Republican mascot an elephant ? Why are Democrats linked to the color blue ? And what happens if the candidates tie ? Below , a voter 's guide to such perpetually confounding riddles : . Q . Why are presidential elections always in November , and always on Tuesdays ? It all comes down to weather , harvests and worship . Back when voters traveled to the polls by horse , Tuesday was an ideal day because it allows people to worship on Sunday , ride to their county seat on Monday and vote on Tuesday - all before market day , Wednesday . And the month of November fit nicely between harvest time and brutal winter weather -- which can be especially bad when you 're trudging along by horse and buggy . Politics : Plenty of ballot initiatives . But since many voters now travel by horsepower instead of live horses , some people -- like the group Why Tuesday ? -- are pushing to move election day to a weekend day to increase the country 's historically dismal voter turnout . According to the group , 15 states do not allow early voting , and 27 % of non-voters said the main reason why they did n't vote was because they were too busy or could n't get time off to vote . Q . Why do Republicans have an elephant and Democrats have a donkey ? Back in 1874 , cartoonist Thomas Nast used an elephant to depict the Republican vote in his drawing `` The Third-Term Panic . '' The cartoon was published in Harper 's Weekly after the owner of the New York Herald reportedly criticized the notion of Republican President Ulysses S. Grant running for a third term . ( Grant did n't end up running in the next election ) . In the drawing , an `` ass '' -- depicting the New York Herald -- scares away other animals in a forest as the elephant -- or the Republican vote -- looks like it 's about to stumble into a pit . But that cartoon is n't where where the Democratic donkey came from . In 1828 , Democrat Andrew Jackson 's critics called him a `` jackass '' because of his populist views and his slogan , `` Let the people rule . '' Jackson decided to run with it -- even using images of a donkey in his campaign ads . Later , Nast also used a donkey to depict the Democratic party . Q . Why are Democratic states `` blue , '' and why are Republican states `` red '' ? There 's nothing magical about this color scheme . Essentially , the media made it up . Find your ballot , polling place . Sure , there are logical reasons to use red and blue -- both are colors in the American flag , and they look sharp on infographics because they 're pretty much on opposite ends of the color spectrum . But the seemingly arbitrary color assignments have actually flip-flopped over the years . In 1980 , states won by Republican Ronald Reagan were colored blue ; Democrat Jimmy Carter 's states were colored red . Even as late as 1996 , major media outlets were divided on how to color-code the parties . But in 2000 , when Americans were subjected to weeks of news about recounts , pregnant chads and electoral infographics , everyone seemed to get on the same page and shaded Republican-leaning states red and Democratic-leaning states blue . Q . What happens if candidates tie in electoral votes ? It 's possible that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney snag the exact same number of electoral votes . In that case , the 12th Amendment says the House of Representatives gets to pick the president . And since analysts expect Republicans to maintain control of the House , Romney would likely win the presidency . Pick your electoral map . In the same scenario , the Senate would get to choose the vice president . And because Democrats are expected to keep control of that chamber , senators could select incumbent Vice President Joe Biden to form a split administration . Politics : Could close race produce a popular/electoral vote split ? Q . Why do presidents have to wait all the way until January 20 to assume office ? It used to be a lot longer . Until 1937 , presidents did n't get sworn in until March 4 because it took so long to count and report ballots , and because of the winner 's logistical issues in moving to the capital . But then better technology kicked in , and the 20th Amendment moved presidential inaugurations to noon on January 20 -- allowing presidents to start taking care of business sooner .
The Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant started with negative connotations . Some people are campaigning to move Election Day from Tuesday to a weekend day . If Romney and Obama tie , the U.S. could get a Republican president and a Democratic VP . The color assignments for Republicans and Democrats have flip-flopped over the years .