US Presidential elections popular votes since 1900

In a United States presidential election, the popular vote is the total number or the

percentage In mathematics, a percentage (from la, per centum, "by a hundred") is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%", although the abbreviations "pct.", "pct" and sometimes "pc" are also us ...

of votes cast for a candidate by voters in the 50 states and Washington, D.C.; the candidate who gains the most votes nationwide is said to have won the popular vote. However, the popular vote is not used to determine who is elected as the nation's president or vice president. Thus it is possible for the winner of the popular vote to end up losing the election, an outcome that has occurred on five occasions, most recently in the

2016 election The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...

. This is because presidential elections are indirect elections; the votes cast on

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ar ...

are not cast directly for a candidate, but for members of the Electoral College. The Electoral College's electors then formally elect the president and vice president. The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1804) provides the procedure by which the president and vice president are elected; electors vote separately for each office. Previously, electors cast two votes for president, and the winner and runner up became president and vice-president respectively. The appointment of electors is a matter for each state's legislature to determine; in

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

and in every presidential election since

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

, all states have used a popular vote to do so. The 1824 election was the first in which the popular vote was first fully recorded and reported. Since then, 19 presidential elections have occurred in which a candidate was elected or reelected without gaining a majority of the popular vote.McPherson, J. (2001). ''To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents''. Dorling Kindersly Publishing.

List

The table below is a list of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin. It is sorted to display elections by their presidential term / year of election, name, margin by

in popular vote, popular vote, margin in popular vote by number, and the runner up in the Electoral College.

Timeline

References

* Leip, David.
Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
'. * Peters, Gerhard.
Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections
'.

External links

- Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology {{Lists of US Presidents and Vice Presidents United States presidential elections statistics United States presidential elections by popular vote margin Lists relating to the United States presidency

List

Timeline

See also

References

External links