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Throughout U.S. history, the difference in the proportion of electoral votes has often been several times larger than the difference in the popular vote. For example, in the 1980s Ronald Reagan received roughly nine and eighteen percent more popular votes than his respective candidates, however he then received roughly seventy percent more electoral votes than both candidates. There are many critics of the electoral college system, whose main argument is that the most popular candidate is not always elected president, while its defenders argue that the system gives proportional representation to all Americans, and prevents candidates from ignoring the interests of those in less-populated states.

The United States uses the electoral college system to elect its presidents, which generally means that the most popular candidate in each state is then given that state's allocation of electoral votes (based on the state's population). Since 1968, there have been 538 electoral votes on offer in each election, meaning that he first candidate to reach 270 electoral votes is declared President. Since 1824, a popular vote has been held among the general public in order to determine the most popular candidate in each state (although women were not granted suffrage until 1920, while black and Native American voters faced widespread voter suppression until the 1960s). Because of the electoral college system, the proportion of popular votes won by a candidate may be very different than the proportion of electoral votes, and this has caused some instances where the candidate with the most electoral votes is declared President of the United States, despite losing the popular vote (such as in 2000 and 2016).

Winning margins in the electoral and popular votes in United States presidential elections from 1789 to 2020

Year and candidates (winner in bold)	Electoral College	Popular Vote
2020: Joe Biden v Donald Trump	13.76%	4.45%
2016: Donald Trump v Hillary Clinton	14.3%	-2.1%
2012: Barack Obama v Mitt Romney	23.24%	3.9%
2008: Barack Obama v John McCain	35.68%	7.2%
2004: George W. Bush v John Kerry	6.5%	2.4%
2000: George W. Bush v Al Gore	0.93%	-0.5%
1996: Bill Clinton v Bob Dole	40.9%	8.5%
1992: Bill Clinton v George H. W. Bush	37.54%	5.6%
1988: George H. W. Bush v Michael S. Dukakis	58.55%	7.7%
1984: Ronald Reagan v Walter F. Mondale	95.16%	18.2%
1980: Ronald Reagan v Jimmy Carter	81.78%	9.4%
1976: Jimmy Carter v Gerald R. Ford	10.59%	2%
1972: Richard Nixon v George S. McGovern	93.49%	23.2%
1968: Richard Nixon v Hubert H. Humphrey	20.45%	0.7%
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson v Barry M. Goldwater	80.66%	22.6%
1960: John F. Kennedy v Richard Nixon	15.54%	0.2%
1956: Dwight D. Eisenhower v Adlai E. Stevenson	70.43%	15.4%
1952: Dwight D. Eisenhower v Adlai E. Stevenson	66.48%	10.5%
1948: Harry S. Truman v Thomas E. Dewey	21.47%	4.4%
1944: Franklin D. Roosevelt v Thomas E. Dewey	62.72%	7.5%
1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt v Wendell L. Wilke	69.16%	9.9%
1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt v Alfred M. Landon	96.98%	23.7%
1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt v Herbert Hoover	77.78%	17.7%
1928: Herbert Hoover v Alfred E. Smith	67.24%	17.3%
1924: Calvin Coolidge v John W. Davis	46.33%	25.9%
1920: Warren G. Harding v James M. Cox	52.16%	26.2%
1916: Woodrow Wilson v Charles E. Hughes	4.33%	3.1%
1912: Woodrow Wilson v Theodore Roosevelt****	65.35%	14.4%
1908: William H. Taft v William J Bryan	32.92%	8.6%
1904: Theodore Roosevelt v Alton B. Parker	41.18%	18.8%
1896: William McKinley v William J. Bryan	21.26%	4.3%
1892: Grover Cleveland v Benjamin Harrison	29.73%	3.1%
1890: William McKinley v William J. Bryan	30.64%	6.2%
1888: Benjamin Harrison v Grover Cleveland	16.2%	-0.8%
1884: Grover Cleveland v James G. Blaine	9.25%	0.2%
1880: James Garfield v Winfield S. Hancock	15.98%	0.1%
1876: Rutherford B. Hayes v Samuel J. Tilden	0.28%	-3%
*1872: Ulysses S. Grant v Horace Greeley	81.25%	11.8%
1868: Ulysses S. Grant v Horatio Seymour	45.58%	5.4%
1864: Abraham Lincoln v George B. McClellan	81.98%	10%
**1860: Abraham Lincoln v John C. Breckenridge	35.65%	21.8%
1856: James Buchanan v John C. Frémont	20.78%	12.2%
1852: Franklin Pierce v Winfield Scott	71.62%	6.9%
1848: Zachary Taylor v Lewis Cass	12.42%	4.8%
1844: James K Polk v Henry Clay	23.64%	1.4%
1840: William H. Harrison v Martin Van Buren	59.18%	6.1%
1836: Martin Van Buren v William H. Harrison	32.99%	14.2%
1832: Andrew Jackson v Henry Clay	59.44%	16.8%
1828: Andrew Jackson v John Quincy Adams	36.4%	12.4%
***1824: John Quincy Adams v Andrew Jackson	-5.75%	-10.4%
1820: James Monroe v John Quincy Adams	97.87%	-
1816: James Monroe v Rufus King	68.66%	-
1812: James Madison v DeWitt Clinton	17.98%	-
1808: James Madison v Charles Pickney	42.85%	-
1804: Thomas Jefferson v Charles Pickney	84.1%	-
1800: Thomas Jefferson v John Adams	5.8%	-
1796: John Adams v Thomas Jefferson	2.17%	-
1792: George Washington (Unopposed)	100%	-
1789: George Washington (Unopposed)	100%	-

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Release date

February 2021

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Region

United States

Survey time period

1789 to 2020

Supplementary notes

*Horace Greeley died between the popular vote and electoral vote, therefore his allocation of electoral votes was distributed among other political figures.

**Stephen A. Douglas received the second highest share of the popular vote (29.5 percent), but the fourth highest share of electoral votes at 3.96 percent.

***None of the four candidates that year received a majority, therefore the result was decided in the House of Representatives.

Percentage of Electoral College votes calculated using Encyclopedia Britannica data.

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