Just how many people elect the president of the United States? The answer may surprise you.  Consider the 2000 presidential elections. Even though more than 100 million people voted in the election, only a small portion of those votes in fact were decisive. Indeed the results would have been exactly the same even if nearly 80 million of those voters would have stayed home.

Here’s what we mean:

• Total number of votes cast nationwide in Presidential elections:
• 105,396,641 in 2000
• 131,338,626 in 2008
• Total number of votes cast for the winner in their states won:
• 26,353,058 in 30 states for George W. Bush
• 53,363,321 in 29 states (including DC) for Barack Obama
• Minimum number of votes the winner needed in order to win in those same states:
• 21,835,615 in 30 states for George W. Bush
• 39,908,351 in 29 states (including DC) for Barack Obama
• Total number of votes that did not factor in determining the winner of the president in their respective years:
• To win the Electoral College in 2000, Bush needed only 21,835,615 votes out of a total of 105,396,641 votes.
• To win the Electoral College in 2008, Obama needed only 39,908,351 votes out of a total of 131,338,626 votes.
• Percentage of votes that did not factor in determining the winner in their respective years:
• 79.28% in 2000
• 70.39% in 2008

Electoral College Table of Contents


 

March 9th 2006
Electoral College Drop-Out
Los Angeles City Beat

Prominent columnist Andrew Gumbel voices support for the National Popular Vote Campaign; he criticizes the problems of the Electoral College and the lack of campaigning in most states.

March 5th 2006
At long last: A truly fair popular presidential vote?
The Houston Chronicle

Nationally syndicated columnist Neal Peirce, an Electoral College and popular vote expert, quotes FairVote chairman John Anderson in an op-ed hopeful for reform.

March 1st 2006
We vote for a fairer way to decide national elections
Chicago Sun-Times

A ringing endorsement from the Chicago Sun-Times of the National Popular Vote campaign, of which FairVote is a lead coalition member.

February 28th 2006
The Electoral College: A new approach to an increasingly serious problem
Sacramento Bee

The Electoral College's violations of political equality make the case for presidential election reform particularly pressing, according to FairVote's Rob Richie and Ryan O'Donnell.

February 27th 2006
Count 'Em
The New Yorker

New Yorker columnist Hendrik Hertzberg touts merits of National Popular Vote plan.

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