How are the dates of the presidential conventions determined?

Answer 1

The dates of the two major party's conventions are determined by a series of unwritten, but effectively binding, rules.

The first of these rules is that the party currently controlling the Presidency holds its convention after the party seeking to take control of it. As such, the party challenging the incumbent President - or his designated successor - effectively has first pick of date.

The second rule is that the conventions should not conflict with the summer Olympics, which take place in the same year. As such, the parties either schedule their conventions immediately after the two week Olympics (as in 2008 and 2012) or either side of them. This is to ensure they are not competing for viewers with the Olympic games.

Political parties that chose to accept federal funding for their campaigns traditionally schedule their conventions as late as they possibly can, as independent fundraising is not permitted for those parties post-convention.

The final rule is that the two parties cannot have their conventions overlap significantly, in order to ensure fairness and equal media coverage. As such, there must be at least several days between the two major conventions.

The exact convention dates are determined by the respective party's national committees and leadership according to these rules.