The election of the president and for vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not directly for those offices, but instead for members of the Electoral College. These electors then cast direct votes, known as electoral votes, for president and for vice president. The candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes (at least 270 out of 538, since the Twenty-Third Amendment granted voting rights to citizens of D.C.) is then elected to that office. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes for president, the House of Representatives elects the president; likewise if no one receives an absolute majority of the votes for vice president, then the Senate elects the vice president.
United States presidential elections differ from many other republics around the world (operating under either the presidential system or the semi-presidential system) which use direct elections from the national popular vote ('one person, one vote') of their entire countries to elect their respective presidents. The United States instead uses indirect elections for its president through the Electoral College, and the system is highly decentralized like other elections in the United States. The Electoral College and its procedure are established in the U.S. Constitution by Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 4; and the Twelfth Amendment (which replaced Clause 3 after its ratification in 1804). Under Clause 2, each state casts as many electoral votes as the total number of its Senators and Representatives in Congress, while (per the Twenty-third Amendment, ratified in 1961) Washington, D.C., casts the same number of electoral votes as the least-represented state, which is three. Also under Clause 2, the manner for choosing electors is determined by each state legislature, not directly by the federal government. Many state legislatures previously selected their electors directly, but over time all switched to using votes cast by state voters to choose the state's members of the electoral college (electors). Beyond the parameters set in the U.S. Constitution, state law, not federal, regulates most aspects of administering the popular vote, including most of the voter eligibility and registration requirements.
Almost all states edict the winner of the plurality of its constituent statewide popular vote ('one person, one vote') shall receive all of that state's electors ("winner-takes-all'). A couple - Nebraska and Maine - determine a part of their electors by use of district votes within the respective state.
Eighteen states also have specific laws that punish electors who vote in opposition to the plurality, known as "faithless" or "unpledged" electors. In modern times, faithless and unpledged electors have not affected the ultimate outcome of an election, so the results can generally be determined based on the state-by-state popular vote.
In addition, most of the time, the winner as determined by the electoral college also has received the largest part of the national popular vote. There have been four exceptions: 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016, in which the Electoral College winner's portion of the popular vote was surpassed by an opponent. Although taking fewer votes, the winner claimed more electoral college seats, due to winning close and narrow pluralities in numerous swing states.
In addition, the 1824 election was the only presidential election under the current system decided by a contingent election in Congress that elected a different president than the candidate with a plurality in both the electoral and popular vote. (The 1800 election and the 1824 election were decided in the House. In 1800 the House winner was the candidate who had won a plurality of the popular vote.)
Presidential elections occur every four years on Election Day, which since 1845 has been the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. This date coincides with the general elections of various other federal, state, and local races; since local governments are responsible for managing elections, these races typically all appear on one ballot. The Electoral College electors then formally cast their electoral votes on the first Monday after December 12 at their state's capital. Congress then certifies the results in early January, and the presidential term begins on Inauguration Day, which since the passage of the Twentieth Amendment has been set at January 20.
The nomination process, consisting of the primary elections and caucuses and the nominating conventions, was not specified in the Constitution, but was developed over time by the states and political parties. These primary elections are generally held between January and June before the general election in November, while the nominating conventions are held in the summer. Though not codified by law, political parties also follow an indirect election process, where voters in the fifty states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, cast ballots for a slate of delegates to a political party's nominating convention, who then elect their party's presidential nominee. Each party may then choose a vice presidential running mate to join the ticket, which is either determined by choice of the nominee or by a second round of voting. Because of changes to national campaign finance laws since the 1970s regarding the disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns, presidential candidates from the major political parties usually declare their intentions to run as early as the spring of the previous calendar year before the election (almost 21 months before Inauguration Day).
History
Electoral College
Article Two of the Constitution originally established the method of presidential elections, including the creation of the Electoral College. This was the result of a compromise between those constitutional framers who wanted Congress to choose the president and those who preferred a national popular vote.
As set forth in Article Two, each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its delegates in both houses of Congress, combined. In 1961, the ratification of the Twenty-Third Amendment granted a number of electors to the District of Columbia, an amount equal to the number of electors allocated to the least populous state. However, U.S. territories are not allocated electors, and therefore are not represented in the Electoral College.
State legislatures - direct election
Constitutionally, the legislature of each state determines how its electors are chosen; Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 states that each state shall appoint electors "in such Manner as the Legislature Thereof May Direct". During the first presidential election in 1789, in four of the 11 states of the time, the electors were elected directly by voters. In two others, a hybrid system was used where both the voters and the state legislatures took part in electing the electors. In five, the state legislatures themselves elected the electors.
Gradually more states began conducting popular elections to choose their slate of electors. In 1800, five of the 16 states chose electors by a popular vote; by 1824, after the rise of Jacksonian democracy, 18 of the 24 states chose electors by popular vote. (In most cases simple state-wide plurality is sufficient to elect a general ticket using popular vote. But in the first presidential election in 1789, for example, some states used "open" list block voting; Maryland used block voting but had guaranteed seats for different parts of the state; Virginia elected its 12 electors by first-past-the-post voting contest in 12 districts. Other states later used multi-member districts, each covering a part of the state, to elect their electors.)
This movement toward greater democratization coincided with a gradual decrease in property restrictions for the franchise. By 1840, only one of the 26 states (South Carolina) still selected electors by the state legislature. Every other state was electing its electors by general ticket plurality voting state-wide. By 1872 no states elected their electors using the state legislature - all the states had switched to the general ticket method, Colorado having been the last hold-out. And today only two states - Maine and Nebraska - elect at least some of their electors through a different method than that general ticket method, in their cases it is First-past-the-post voting in districts covering part of the state.
Vice presidents
Under the original system established by Article Two, electors cast votes for two candidates for president. The candidate with the highest number of votes (provided it was a majority of the electoral votes) became the president, and the second-place candidate became the vice president. This presented a problem during the presidential election of 1800 when Aaron Burr received the same number of electoral votes as Thomas Jefferson and challenged Jefferson's election to the office. In the end, Jefferson was chosen as the president because of Alexander Hamilton's influence in the House.
In response to the 1800 election, the Twelfth Amendment was passed, requiring electors to cast two distinct votes: one for president and another for vice president. While this solved the problem at hand, it reduced the prestige of the vice presidency, as the office was no longer held by the leading challenger for the presidency. The separate ballots for president and vice president became something of a moot issue later in the 19th century when it became the norm for popular elections to determine a state's Electoral College delegation. Electors chosen this way are pledged to vote for a particular presidential and vice presidential candidate (offered by the same political party). Although the president and vice president are legally elected separately, in practice they are chosen together.
Tie votes
The Twelfth Amendment also established rules when no candidate wins a majority vote in the Electoral College. In the presidential election of 1824, Andrew Jackson received a plurality, but not a majority, of electoral votes cast. The election was thrown to the House, and John Quincy Adams was elected president. A deep rivalry resulted between Andrew Jackson and House Speaker Henry Clay, who had also been a candidate in the election.
Since the vice presidential candidate John Calhoun received a majority of votes, having been on the ticket for both Jackson and Adams, there was no need for the Senate to vote for a vice president.
Popular vote
Since 1824, aside from the occasional "faithless elector", the popular vote indirectly determines the winner of a presidential election by determining the electoral vote, as each state or district's popular vote determines its electoral college vote. Although the nationwide popular vote does not directly determine the winner of a presidential election, it does strongly correlate with who is the victor. In 54 of the 59 total elections held so far (about 91 percent), the winner of the national popular vote has also carried the Electoral College vote. The winners of the nationwide popular vote and the Electoral College vote have differed only in close elections. In highly competitive elections, candidates focus on turning out their vote in the contested swing states critical to winning an electoral college majority, so they do not try to maximize their popular vote by real or fraudulent vote increases in one-party areas.
However, candidates have failed to get the most votes in the nationwide popular vote in a presidential election and still won. In the 1824 election, Jackson won the popular vote, but no one received a majority of electoral votes. According to the Twelfth Amendment, the House must choose the president out of the top three people in the election. Clay had come in fourth, so he threw his support to Adams, who then won. Because Adams later named Clay his Secretary of State, Jackson's supporters claimed that Adams gained the presidency by making a deal with Clay. Charges of a "corrupt bargain" followed Adams through his term.
In five presidential elections (1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016), the winner of the electoral vote lost the popular vote outright. Numerous constitutional amendments have been submitted seeking to replace the Electoral College with a direct popular vote, but none has ever successfully passed both Houses of Congress. Another alternate proposal is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an interstate compact whereby individual participating states agree to allocate their electors based on the winner of the national popular vote instead of their respective statewide results.
Election dates
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Electoral Count Act of 1887
Congress passed the Electoral Count Act in 1887 in response to the disputed 1876 election, in which several states submitted competing slates of electors. The law established procedures for the counting of electoral votes. It has subsequently been codified into law in Title 3 of the United States Code. It also includes a "safe harbor" deadline where states must finally resolve any controversies over the selection of their electors.
Inauguration day
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Campaign spending
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 was enacted to increase disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns. Subsequent amendments to law require that candidates to a federal office must file a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission before they can receive contributions aggregating in excess of $5,000 or make expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000. Thus, this began a trend of presidential candidates declaring their intentions to run as early as the spring of the preceding calendar year so they can start raising and spending the money needed for their nationwide campaign.
Political parties
There is no provision for the role of political parties in the U.S. Constitution, since the Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan. Thus, the first president, George Washington, was elected as an independent. Since the emergence of the American two-party system, and the election of Washington's successor, John Adams, in 1796, all winners of U.S. presidential elections have represented one of two major parties.Third parties have taken second place only twice, in 1860 and 1912. The last time a third (independent) candidate achieved significant success (although still finishing in third place) was Ross Perot in 1992, and the last time a third-party candidate received any electoral votes not from faithless electors was George Wallace in 1968.
Primaries, caucuses, and nominating conventions
In the first two presidential elections, the Electoral College handled both the nominations and elections in 1789 and 1792 that selected Washington. Starting with the 1796 election, congressional party or a state legislature party caucus selected the party's presidential candidates. That system collapsed in 1824, and since 1832 the preferred mechanism for nomination has been a national convention. Delegates to the national convention were usually selected at state conventions whose own delegates were chosen by district conventions. Sometimes they were dominated by intrigue between political bosses who controlled delegates; the national convention was far from democratic or transparent.
Progressive Era reformers then looked to the primary election as a way to measure popular opinion of candidates, as opposed to the opinion of the bosses. Florida enacted the first presidential primary in 1901. The Wisconsin direct open primary of 1905 was the first to eliminate the caucus and mandate direct selection of national convention delegates. In 1910, Oregon became the first state to establish a presidential preference primary, which requires delegates to the National Convention to support the winner of the primary at the convention. The impetus for national adoption of the binding primary election was the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Vice President Hubert Humphrey secured the presidential nomination despite not winning a single primary under his own name. After this, a Democratic National Committee-commissioned panel led by Senator George McGovern – the McGovern–Fraser Commission – recommended that states adopt new rules to assure wider participation. A large number of states, faced with the need to conform to more detailed rules for the selection of national delegates in 1972, chose a presidential primary as an easier way to come into compliance with the new national Democratic Party rules. The result was that many more future delegates would be selected by a state presidential primary. The Republicans also adopted many more state presidential primaries.
Procedure
Eligibility requirements
Article Two of the Constitution stipulates that for a person to serve as president, the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for a period of no less than 14 years. A candidate may start running their campaign early before turning 35 years old or completing 14 years of residency, but must meet the age and residency requirements by Inauguration Day. The Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution also sets a term limit: a president cannot be elected to more than two terms.
The U.S. Constitution also has two provisions that apply to all federal officers appointed by the president, and debatably also to the presidency. When Senator Barack Obama was elected president a legal debate concluded that the president was not an "office under the United States" for many reasons, but most significantly because Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 would violate the legal principle of surplusage if the president were also a civil officer. There exists no case law to resolve the debate however public opinion seems to favor that the presidency is also bound by the following qualifications:
Upon conviction at impeachment, the Senate may vote to disqualify that person from holding any "public office... under the United States" in the future. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the election to any federal office of any person who engaged in insurrection after having held any federal or state office, rebellion or treason; this disqualification can be waived if such an individual gains the consent of two-thirds of both houses of Congress.
In addition, the Twelfth Amendment establishes that the vice-president must meet all the qualifications of being a president.
Although not a mandatory requirement, Federal campaign finance laws including the Federal Election Campaign Act state that a candidate who intends to receive contributions aggregating in excess of $5,000 or make expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000, among others, must first file a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. This has led presidential candidates, especially members from the two major political parties, to officially announce their intentions to run as early as the spring of the previous calendar year so they can start raising or spending the money needed for their nationwide campaign. Potential candidates usually form exploratory committees even earlier to determine the feasibility of them actually running.
Decentralized election system and voter eligibility
The U.S. presidential election process, like all other elections in the United States, is a highly decentralized system. While the U.S. Constitution does set parameters for the election of the president and other federal officials, state law, not federal, regulates most aspects of elections in the U.S., including the primaries, the eligibility of voters (beyond the basic constitutional definition), and the specific details of running each state's electoral college meeting. All elections, including federal, are administered by the individual states.
Thus, the presidential election is really an amalgamation of separate state elections instead of a single national election run by the federal government. Candidates must submit separate filings in each of the 50 states if they want to qualify on each state's ballot, and the requirements for filing vary by state.
The eligibility of an individual for voting is set out in the Constitution and regulated at state level. The 15th, 19th and 26th Amendments to the Constitution state that suffrage cannot be denied on grounds of race or color, sex, or age for citizens eighteen years or older, respectively. Beyond these basic qualifications, it is the responsibility of state legislatures to regulate voter eligibility and registration. And the specific requirements for voter eligibility and registration also vary by state, e.g. some states ban convicted felons from voting.
Nominating process
The modern nominating process of U.S. presidential elections consists of two major parts: a series of presidential primary elections and caucuses held in each state, and the presidential nominating conventions held by each political party. This process was never included in the Constitution, and thus evolved over time by the political parties to clear the field of candidates.
The primary elections are run by state and local governments, while the caucuses are organized directly by the political parties. Some states hold only primary elections, some hold only caucuses, and others use a combination of both. These primaries and caucuses are staggered generally between January and June before the federal election, with Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally holding the first presidential state caucus and primary, respectively.
Like the general election, presidential caucuses or primaries are indirect elections. The major political parties officially vote for their presidential candidate at their respective nominating conventions, usually all held in the summer before the federal election. Depending on each state's law and state's political party rules, when voters cast ballots for a candidate in a presidential caucus or primary, they may be voting to award delegates "bound" to vote for a candidate at the presidential nominating conventions, or they may simply be expressing an opinion that the state party is not bound to follow in selecting delegates to their respective national convention.
Unlike the general election, voters in the U.S. territories can also elect delegates to the national conventions. Furthermore, each political party can determine how many delegates to allocate to each state and territory. In 2012 for example, the Democratic and Republican party conventions each used two different formulas to allocate delegates. The Democrats-based theirs on two main factors: the proportion of votes each state gave to the Democratic candidate in the previous three presidential elections, and the number of electoral votes each state had in the Electoral College. In contrast, the Republicans assigned to each state 10 delegates, plus three delegates per congressional district. Both parties then gave a fixed number of delegates to each territory, and finally bonus delegates to states and territories that passed certain criteria.
Along with delegates chosen during primaries and caucuses, state and U.S. territory delegations to both the Democratic and Republican party conventions also include "unpledged" delegates who have a vote. For Republicans, they consist of the three top party officials from each state and territory. Democrats have a more expansive group of unpledged delegates called "superdelegates", who are party leaders and elected officials.
Each party's presidential candidate also chooses a vice presidential nominee to run with him or her on the same ticket, and this choice is rubber-stamped by the convention.
If no single candidate has secured a majority of delegates (including both pledged and unpledged), then a "brokered convention" results. All pledged delegates are then "released" and can switch their allegiance to a different candidate. Thereafter, the nomination is decided through a process of alternating political horse trading, and additional rounds of re-votes.
The conventions have historically been held inside convention centers, but since the late 20th century both the Democratic and Republican parties have favored sports arenas and domed stadiums to accommodate the increasing attendance.
Campaign strategy
One major component of getting elected to any office is running a successful campaign. There are, however, multiple ways to go about creating a successful campaign. Several strategies are employed by candidates from both sides of the political spectrum. Though the ideas may differ the goal of them all are the same, "...to mobilize supporters and persuade undecided voters..." (Sides et al., pg. 126 para, 2).
The goal of any campaign strategy is to create an effective path to victory for the intended candidate. Joel Bradshaw is a political scientist who has four propositions necessary to develop such a strategy. The first one being, the separation of the eligible voters into three groups: Undecided voters, opponent voters, and your voting base. Second, is the utilization of previous election results and survey data that can be used to identify who falls into the categories given in section one. Third, it is not essential, nor possible to get the support of every voter in an election. The campaign focus should be held mostly to keeping the base and using data to determine how to swing the undecided voters. Fourth, now that the campaign has identified the ideal base strategy, it is now time to allocate resources properly to make sure your strategy is fulfilled to its extent, (Sides et al. pg. 126, para 4, and pg. 127, para 1).
Campaign tactics are also an essential part of any strategy and rely mostly on the campaign's resources and the way they use them to advertise. Most candidates draw on a wide variety of tactics in the hopes to flood all forms of media, though they do not always have the finances. The most expensive form of advertising is running ads on broadcast television and is the best way to reach the largest number of potential voters. This tactic does have its drawback, however, as it is the most expensive form of advertisement. Even though it reaches the largest number of potential voters it is not the most effective way of swaying voters. The most effective way is believed to be through personal contact as many political scientists agree. It is confirmed that it is much more effective than contacting potential voters by email or by phone, (Sides et al., pg. 147 para, 2, 3). These are just some of the wide variety of tactics used in campaigns.
The popular vote on Election Day
Under the United States Constitution, the manner of choosing electors for the Electoral College is determined by each state's legislature. Although each state designates electors by popular vote, other methods are allowed. For instance, instead of having a popular vote, a number of states used to select presidential electors by a direct vote of the state legislature itself.
However, federal law does specify that all electors must be selected on the same day, which is "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November," i.e., a Tuesday no earlier than November 2 and no later than November 8. Today, the states and the District of Columbia each conduct their own popular elections on Election Day to help determine their respective slate of electors.
Generally, voters are required to vote on a ballot where they select the candidate of their choice. The presidential ballot is a vote "for the electors of a candidate"[citation needed] meaning the voter is not voting for the candidate, but endorsing a slate of electors pledged to vote for a specific presidential and vice presidential candidate.
Many voting ballots allow a voter to "blanket vote" for all candidates in a particular political party or to select individual candidates on a line by line voting system. Which candidates appear on the voting ticket is determined through a legal process known as ballot access. Usually, the size of the candidate's political party and the results of the major nomination conventions determine who is pre-listed on the presidential ballot. Thus, the presidential election ticket will not list every candidate running for president, but only those who have secured a major party nomination or whose size of their political party warrants having been formally listed. Laws allow other candidates pre-listed on a ticket, provided enough voters have endorsed that candidate, usually through a signature list.
The final way to be elected for president is to have one's name written in at the time of election as a write-in candidate. This method is used for candidates who did not fulfill the legal requirements to be pre-listed on the voting ticket. However, since a slate of electors must be associated with these candidates to vote for them (and someone for vice president) in the electoral college in the event they win the presidential election in a state, most states require a slate of electors be designated before the election in order for a write-in candidate to win, essentially meaning that most write-in votes do not count. In any event, a write-in candidate has never won an election in a state for president of the United States. Write-in votes are also used by voters to express a distaste for the listed candidates, by writing in an alternative candidate for president such as Mickey Mouse or comedian Stephen Colbert (whose application was voted down by the South Carolina Democratic Party).
Because U.S. territories are not represented in the Electoral College, U.S. citizens in those areas do not vote in the general election for president. Guam has held straw polls for president since the 1980 election to draw attention to this fact.
Electoral college
Most state laws establish a winner-take-all system, wherein the ticket that wins a plurality of votes wins all of that state's allocated electoral votes, and thus has their slate of electors chosen to vote in the Electoral College. Maine and Nebraska do not use this method, giving two electoral votes to the statewide winner and one electoral vote to the winner of each Congressional district instead.
Each state's winning slate of electors then meets at their respective state's capital on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for president and vice president. Although Electoral College members can vote for anyone under the U.S. Constitution, 32 states plus the District of Columbia have laws against faithless electors, those electors who do not cast their electoral votes for the person for whom they have pledged to vote. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the case Chiafalo v. Washington on July 6, 2020, that the constitution does not prevent states from penalizing or replacing faithless electors.
In early January, the total Electoral College vote count is opened by the sitting vice president, acting in his or her capacity as president of the Senate, and read aloud to a joint session of the incoming Congress, which was elected at the same time as the president. Members of Congress are free to object to any or all of a state's electoral vote count, provided that the objection is presented in writing and is signed by at least one member of each house of Congress. If such an objection is submitted, both houses of Congress adjourn to their respective chambers to debate and vote on the objection. The approval of both houses of Congress is required to invalidate those electoral votes in question.
If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote (at least 270), the president is determined by the rules outlined by the Twelfth Amendment. Specifically, the selection of president would then be decided by a contingent election in a ballot of the House of Representatives. For the purposes of electing the president, each state has only one vote. A ballot of the Senate is held to choose the vice president. In this ballot, each senator has one vote. The House has chosen the victor of the presidential race only twice, in 1800 and 1824; the Senate has chosen the victor of the vice-presidential race only once, in 1836.
If the president is not chosen by Inauguration Day, the vice president-elect acts as president. If neither are chosen by then, Congress by law determines who shall act as president, pursuant to the Twentieth Amendment.
Unless there are faithless electors, disputes, or other controversies, the events in December and January mentioned above are largely a formality since the winner can be determined based on the state-by-state popular vote results. Between the general election and Inauguration Day, this apparent winner is referred to as the "president-elect" (unless it is a sitting president who has won re-election).
Election calendar
The typical periods of the presidential election process are as follows, with the dates corresponding to the 2024 general election:
- Late 2022 to early 2023 – Candidates announce their intentions to run, and (if necessary) file their Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission
- June 2023 to January 2024 – Primary and caucus debates
- January to June 2024 – Primaries and caucuses
- Late May to August 2024 – Nominating conventions (including those of the minor third parties)
- September and October 2024 – Presidential election debates
- November 5, 2024 – Election Day
- December 17, 2024 – Electors cast their electoral votes
- January 6, 2025 – Congress counts and certifies the electoral votes
- January 20, 2025 - Presidential inauguration
Trends
Previous experience
Among the 45 persons who have served as president, only Donald Trump had never held a position in either government or the military prior to taking office. The only previous experience Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower had was in the military. Herbert Hoover previously served as the Secretary of Commerce. Everyone else served in elected public office before becoming president, such as being vice president, a member of Congress, or a state or territorial governor.
Fifteen presidents also served as vice president. Six of them – John Adams (1796), Thomas Jefferson (1800), Martin Van Buren (1836), Richard Nixon (1968), George H. W. Bush (1988), and Joe Biden (2020) – began their first term after winning an election. The remaining nine began their first term as president according to the presidential line of succession after the intra-term death or resignation of their predecessor. Of these, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson were subsequently elected to a full term of their own, while John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, and Gerald Ford were not. Ford's accession to the presidency is unique in American history in that he became vice president through the process prescribed by the Twenty-fifth Amendment rather than by winning an election, thus making him the only U.S. president to not have been elected to either office.
Sixteen presidents had previously served in the U.S. Senate, including four of the five who served between 1945 and 1974. However, only three were incumbent senators at the time they were elected president (Warren G. Harding in 1920, John F. Kennedy in 1960, and Barack Obama in 2008). Eighteen presidents had earlier served in the House of Representatives. However, only one was a sitting representative when elected to the presidency (James A. Garfield in 1880).
Four of the last seven presidents (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) have been governors of a state. Geographically, these presidents were from either very large states (Reagan from California, Bush from Texas) or from a state south of the Mason–Dixon line and east of Texas (Carter from Georgia, Clinton from Arkansas). In all, sixteen presidents have been former governors, including seven who were incumbent governors at the time of their election to the presidency.
The most common job experience, occupation or profession of U.S. presidents has been lawyer; 26 presidents had served as attorneys. Twenty-two presidents were also in the military. Eight presidents had served as Cabinet Secretaries, with five of the six presidents who served between 1801 and 1841 having held the office of U.S. Secretary of State.
After leaving office, one president, William Howard Taft, served as Chief Justice of the United States. Two others later served in Congress – John Quincy Adams in the House and Andrew Johnson in the Senate.
Technology and media
Advances in technology and media have also affected presidential campaigns. The invention of radio and then television gave way to reliance upon national political advertisements such as Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 "Daisy", Ronald Reagan's 1984 "Morning in America", and George H. W. Bush's 1988 "Revolving Door", all of which became major factors. In 1992, George H. W. Bush's promise of "Read my lips: no new taxes" was extensively used in the commercials of Bill Clinton and Bush's other opponents with significant effect during the campaign.
Since the development of the internet in the mid-90s, Internet activism has also become an invaluable component of presidential campaigns, especially since 2000. The internet was first used in the 1996 presidential elections, but primarily as a brochure for the candidate online. It was only used by a few candidates and there is no evidence of any major effect on the outcomes of that election cycle.
In 2000, both candidates (George W. Bush and Al Gore) created, maintained, and updated campaign websites. But it was not until the 2004 presidential election cycle was the potential value of the internet seen. By the summer of 2003, ten people competing in the 2004 presidential election had developed campaign websites.Howard Dean's campaign website from that year was considered a model for all future campaign websites. His website played a significant role in his overall campaign strategy. It allowed his supporters to read about his campaign platform and provide feedback, donate, get involved with the campaign, and connect with other supporters. A Gallup poll from January 2004 revealed that 49 percent of Americans have used the internet to get information about candidates, and 28 percent said they use the internet to get this information frequently.
Use of the Internet for grassroots fundraising by US presidential candidates such as Howard Dean, Barack Obama, Ron Paul and Bernie Sanders established it as an effective political tool. In 2016, the use of social media was a key part of Donald Trump campaign. Trump and his opinions were established as constantly "trending" by posting multiple times per day, and his strong online influence was constantly reinforced. Internet channels such as YouTube were used by candidates to share speeches and ads and to attack candidates by uploading videos of gaffes.
A study done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in conjunction with Princeton Survey Research Associates in November 2010 shows that 54% of adults in the United States used the internet to get information about the 2010 midterm elections and about specific candidates. This represents 73% of adult internet users. The study also showed that 22 percent of adult internet users used social networking sites or Twitter to get information about and discuss the elections and 26 percent of all adults used cell phones to learn about or participate in campaigns.
E-campaigning, as it has come to be called, is subject to very little regulation. On March 26, 2006, the Federal Election Commission voted unanimously to "not regulate political communication on the Internet, including emails, blogs and the creating of Web sites". This decision made only paid political ads placed on websites subject to campaign finance limitations. A comment was made about this decision by Roger Alan Stone of Advocacy Inc. which explains this loophole in the context of a political campaign: "A wealthy individual could purchase all of the e-mail addresses for registered voters in a congressional district ... produce an Internet video ad, and e-mail it along with a link to the campaign contribution page ... Not only would this activity not count against any contribution limits or independent expenditure requirements; it would never even need to be reported."
A key part of the United States presidential campaigns is the use of media and framing. Candidates are able to frame their opponents and current issues in ways to affect the way voters will see events and the other presidential candidates. This is known as "priming". For example, during the 2016 presidential election Donald Trump successfully influenced the way voters thought about Hillary Clinton, by encouraging voters to think of Clinton as "Crooked Hillary" or a "Nasty woman". The media, and Trump, tended to focus on what was presented as her email scandal, and when voters thought about her that is what came to mind. Trump played into voters' anti-government interests, while Clinton appealed to the future of the country for the better of future children. Trump was unexpectedly successful at connecting to what a huge portion of Americans perceived as their interests. It was not always Clinton's strong point, but that may not have been her fault. Americans vote based on whether they feel the country is in a time of gain or a time of loss. Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again", made Americans feel like the country was in a time of loss, willing to take a risk on voting for a candidate without political experience. Trump was convincing with his anti-everything rhetoric, and his message reached the electorate with the help of the media. Over half of the media coverage on Trump was focused on where he stood in the race, while only 12% focused on issues, stances, and political beliefs (including problematic comments).
Criticism
| January 2012 (4) February 2012 (7) March 2012 (23) | April 2012 (9) May 2012 (7) June 2012 (6)
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The presidential election process is controversial, with critics arguing that it is inherently undemocratic, and discourages voter participation and turnout in many areas of the country. Because of the staggered nature of the primary season, voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and other small states which traditionally hold their primaries and caucuses first in January usually have a major impact on the races. Campaign activity, media attention, and voter participation are usually higher in these states, as the candidates attempt to build momentum and generate a bandwagon effect in these early primaries. Conversely, voters in California and other large states which traditionally hold their primaries last in June usually end up having no say in who the presidential candidates will be. The races are usually over by then, and thus the campaigns, the media, and voters have little incentive to participate in these late primaries. As a result, more states vie for earlier primaries to claim a greater influence in the process. However, compressing the primary calendar in this way limits the ability of lesser-known candidates to effectively corral resources and raise their visibility among voters, especially when competing with better-known candidates who have more financial resources and the institutional backing of their party's establishment. Primary and caucus reform proposals include a National Primary held on a single day; or the Interregional Primary Plan, where states would be grouped into six regions, and each region would rotate every election on who would hold their primaries first.
With the primary races usually over before June, the political conventions have mostly become scripted, ceremonial affairs. As the drama has left the conventions, and complaints grown that they were scripted and dull pep rallies, public interest and viewership has fallen off. After having offered gavel-to-gavel coverage of the major party conventions in the mid-20th century, the Big Three television networks now devote only approximately three hours of coverage (one hour per night).
Critics also argue that the Electoral College is archaic and inherently undemocratic. With all states, except Maine and Nebraska, using a winner-takes-all system, most of the states' seats are allocated ina blocks to either the Democratic or the Republican candidate and in all but a few states the citizens predominantly and perennially vote for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party (and even in Maine and Nebraska, most of the state seats have historically gone to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, respectively). This encourages presidential candidates to focus exponentially more time, money, and energy campaigning in a few so-called "swing states", states in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support. Such swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) are inundated with campaign visits, saturation television advertising, get-out-the-vote efforts by party organizers, and debates. Meanwhile, candidates and political parties have no incentive to mount nationwide campaign efforts, or work to increase voter turnout, in predominantly Democratic Party "safe states" like California, Illinois or New York or predominantly Republican Party "safe states" like Wyoming, Alabama or Utah. In practice, the winner-takes-all system also both reinforces the country's two-party system and decreases the importance of third and minor political parties. Furthermore, a candidate can win the electoral vote without securing the greatest amount of the national popular vote, such as during the 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016 elections. It would even be possible in theory to secure the necessary 270 electoral votes from only the twelve most populous states and ignore the rest of the country.
Proposed changes to the election process
In 1844, Representative Samuel F. Vinton of Ohio proposed an amendment to the constitution that would replace the electoral college system with a lot system. The Joint Resolution called for each state to elect, by a simple majority, a presidential candidate of said state. Each state would notify Congress of the presidential election results. Congress would then inscribe the name of every state on uniform balls, equal to the number of said state's members of Congress, and deposit into a box. In a joint session of Congress, a ball would be drawn, and the elected candidate of the state of which is written on the drawn ball would be named president. A second ball would immediately be drawn after, and that state's candidate would be named vice-president. The resolution did not pass the House. Representative Vinton proposed an identical amendment in 1846. Again, it was unsuccessful. The driving force behind the introduction of the resolution is unclear, as there is no recorded debate for either proposal.
The Every Vote Counts Amendment, another proposed constitutional amendment, would replace the Electoral College with a direct popular vote, which proponents argue would increase turnout and participation. One proposal that would not require Congressional authorization is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an interstate compact whereby individual participating states would agree to allocate their electors based on the winner of the national popular vote, instead of their respective statewide results.
Another proposal is for every state to adopt the District system used by Maine and Nebraska: give two electoral votes to the statewide winner and one electoral vote to the winner of each Congressional district. The Proportional Plan, often compared to the District Plan, would distribute electoral votes in each state in proportion to the popular vote, increasing the number of electors allocated to third parties.
The Automatic Plan would replace the Electors with an automatic tallying of votes to eliminate the possibility of a faithless elector affecting the outcome of the election.
The House Plan is another proposed constitutional amendment to allocate electors based on the House apportionment alone to lessen small state advantage.
Electoral college results
This is a table of electoral college results. Included are candidates who received at least one electoral vote or at least five percent of the popular vote.
Faithless electors and unpledged electors are denoted by a pink background.
| Year | Party | Presidential candidate | Vice presidential candidate | Popular vote | % | Electoral votes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1788 | Independent | George Washington | None | 43,782 | 100.0% | 69 / 138 | |
| Federalist | John Adams | N/A | N/A | 34 / 138 | |||
| John Jay | 9 / 138 | ||||||
| Robert H. Harrison | 6 / 138 | ||||||
| John Rutledge | 6 / 138 | ||||||
| John Hancock | 4 / 138 | ||||||
| Anti-Administration | George Clinton | 3 / 138 | |||||
| Federalist | Samuel Huntington | 2 / 138 | |||||
| John Milton | 2 / 138 | ||||||
| James Armstrong | 1 / 138 | ||||||
| Benjamin Lincoln | 1 / 138 | ||||||
| Anti-Administration | Edward Telfair | 1 / 138 | |||||
| 1792 | Independent | George Washington | 28,579 | 100.0% | 132 / 264 | ||
| Federalist | John Adams | N/A | N/A | 77 / 264 | |||
| Democratic-Republican | George Clinton | 50 / 264 | |||||
| Thomas Jefferson | 4 / 264 | ||||||
| Aaron Burr | 1 / 264 | ||||||
| 1796 | Federalist | John Adams | 35,726 | 53.4% | 71 / 276 | ||
| Democratic-Republican | Thomas Jefferson | 31,115 | 46.6% | 68 / 276 | |||
| Federalist | Thomas Pinckney | N/A | N/A | 59 / 276 | |||
| Democratic-Republican | Aaron Burr | 30 / 276 | |||||
| Samuel Adams | 15 / 276 | ||||||
| Federalist | Oliver Ellsworth | 11 / 276 | |||||
| Democratic-Republican | George Clinton | 7 / 276 | |||||
| Federalist | John Jay | 5 / 276 | |||||
| James Iredell | 3 / 276 | ||||||
| Independent | George Washington | 2 / 276 | |||||
| Democratic-Republican | John Henry | 2 / 276 | |||||
| Federalist | Samuel Johnston | 2 / 276 | |||||
| Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | 1 / 276 | ||||||
| 1800 | Democratic-Republican | Thomas Jefferson | Aaron Burr | 41,330 | 61.4% | 73 / 276 | |
| Federalist | John Adams | Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | 25,952 | 38.6% | 64 / 276 | ||
| John Jay | 1 / 276 | ||||||
| 1804 | Democratic-Republican | Thomas Jefferson | George Clinton | 104,110 | 72.8% | 162 / 176 | |
| Federalist | Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | Rufus King | 38,919 | 27.2% | 14 / 176 | ||
| 1808 | Democratic-Republican | James Madison | George Clinton | 124,732 | 64.7% | 113 / 176 | |
| John Langdon | 9 / 176 | ||||||
| Federalist | Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | Rufus King | 62,431 | 32.4% | 47 / 176 | ||
| Democratic-Republican | George Clinton | James Madison | N/A | N/A | 3 / 176 | ||
| James Monroe | 3 / 176 | ||||||
| 1812 | Democratic-Republican | James Madison | Elbridge Gerry | 140,431 | 50.4% | 128 / 217 | |
| Democratic-Republican/ Federalist | DeWitt Clinton | Jared Ingersoll | 132,781 | 47.6% | 86 / 217 | ||
| Elbridge Gerry | 3 / 217 | ||||||
| 1816 | Democratic-Republican | James Monroe | Daniel D. Tompkins | 76,592 | 68.2% | 183 / 217 | |
| Federalist | Rufus King | John Eager Howard | 34,740 | 30.9% | 22 / 217 | ||
| James Ross | 5 / 217 | ||||||
| John Marshall | 4 / 217 | ||||||
| Robert Goodloe Harper | 3 / 217 | ||||||
| 1820 | Democratic-Republican | James Monroe | Daniel D. Tompkins | 87,343 | 80.6% | 218 / 232 | |
| Richard Stockton (F) | 8 / 232 | ||||||
| Daniel Rodney (F) | 4 / 232 | ||||||
| Robert Goodloe Harper (F) | 1 / 232 | ||||||
| John Quincy Adams | Richard Rush (F) | N/A | N/A | 1 / 232 | |||
| 1824 | Democratic-Republican (Adams faction) | John Quincy Adams | John C. Calhoun | 113,122 | 30.9% | 74 / 261 | |
| Andrew Jackson | 9 / 261 | ||||||
| N/A | 1 / 261 | ||||||
| Democratic-Republican (Jackson faction) | Andrew Jackson | John C. Calhoun | 151,271 | 41.4% | 99 / 261 | ||
| Democratic-Republican (Crawford faction) | William H. Crawford | Nathaniel Macon | 40,856 | 11.2% | 24 / 261 | ||
| Martin Van Buren | 9 / 261 | ||||||
| John C. Calhoun | 2 / 261 | ||||||
| Henry Clay | 2 / 261 | ||||||
| Nathan Sanford | 2 / 261 | ||||||
| Andrew Jackson | 1 / 261 | ||||||
| Democratic-Republican (Clay faction) | Henry Clay | Nathan Sanford | 47,531 | 13.0% | 28 / 261 | ||
| John C. Calhoun | 7 / 261 | ||||||
| Andrew Jackson | 3 / 261 | ||||||
| 1828 | Democratic | Andrew Jackson | John C. Calhoun | 642,553 | 56.0% | 171 / 261 | |
| William Smith | 7 / 261 | ||||||
| National Republican | John Quincy Adams | Richard Rush | 500,897 | 43.6% | 83 / 261 | ||
| 1832 | Democratic | Andrew Jackson | Martin Van Buren | 701,780 | 54.2% | 189 / 286 | |
| William Wilkins | 30 / 286 | ||||||
| National Republican | Henry Clay | John Sergeant | 484,205 | 37.4% | 49 / 286 | ||
| Nullifier | John Floyd | Henry Lee | N/A | N/A | 11 / 286 | ||
| Anti-Masonic | William Wirt | Amos Ellmaker | 100,715 | 7.8% | 7 / 286 | ||
| 1836 | Democratic | Martin Van Buren | Richard Mentor Johnson | 763,291 | 50.8% | 147 / 294 | |
| William Smith | 23 / 294 | ||||||
| Whig | William Henry Harrison | Francis Granger | 549,907 | 36.6% | 63 / 294 | ||
| John Tyler | 10 / 294 | ||||||
| Hugh L. White | John Tyler | 146,107 | 9.7% | 26 / 294 | |||
| Daniel Webster | Francis Granger | 41,201 | 2.7% | 14 / 294 | |||
| Willie Person Mangum | John Tyler | N/A | N/A | 11 / 294 | |||
| 1840 | Whig | William Henry Harrison | John Tyler | 1,275,390 | 52.9% | 234 / 294 | |
| Democratic | Martin Van Buren | Richard Mentor Johnson | 1,128,854 | 46.8% | 48 / 294 | ||
| Littleton W. Tazewell | 11 / 294 | ||||||
| James K. Polk | 1 / 294 | ||||||
| 1844 | Democratic | James K. Polk | George M. Dallas | 1,339,494 | 49.5% | 170 / 275 | |
| Whig | Henry Clay | Theodore Frelinghuysen | 1,300,004 | 48.1% | 105 / 275 | ||
| 1848 | Whig | Zachary Taylor | Millard Fillmore | 1,361,393 | 47.3% | 163 / 290 | |
| Democratic | Lewis Cass | William Orlando Butler | 1,223,460 | 42.5% | 127 / 290 | ||
| 1852 | Democratic | Franklin Pierce | William R. King | 1,607,510 | 50.8% | 254 / 296 | |
| Whig | Winfield Scott | William Alexander Graham | 1,386,942 | 43.9% | 42 / 296 | ||
| 1856 | Democratic | James Buchanan | John C. Breckinridge | 1,836,072 | 45.3% | 174 / 296 | |
| Republican | John C. Frémont | William L. Dayton | 1,342,345 | 33.1% | 114 / 296 | ||
| American | Millard Fillmore | Andrew Jackson Donelson | 873,053 | 21.6% | 8 / 296 | ||
| 1860 | Republican | Abraham Lincoln | Hannibal Hamlin | 1,865,908 | 39.8% | 180 / 303 | |
| Democratic (Southern) | John C. Breckinridge | Joseph Lane | 848,019 | 18.1% | 72 / 303 | ||
| Constitutional Union | John Bell | Edward Everett | 590,901 | 12.6% | 39 / 303 | ||
| Democratic (Northern) | Stephen A. Douglas | Herschel V. Johnson | 1,380,202 | 29.5% | 12 / 303 | ||
| 1864 | National Union | Abraham Lincoln (R) | Andrew Johnson (D) | 2,218,388 | 55.0% | 212 / 233 | |
| Democratic | George B. McClellan | George H. Pendleton | 1,812,807 | 45.0% | 21 / 233 | ||
| 1868 | Republican | Ulysses S. Grant | Schuyler Colfax | 3,013,650 | 52.7% | 214 / 294 | |
| Democratic | Horatio Seymour | Francis Preston Blair Jr. | 2,708,744 | 47.3% | 80 / 294 | ||
| 1872 | Republican | Ulysses S. Grant | Henry Wilson | 3,598,235 | 55.6% | 286 / 352 | |
| Democratic | Thomas A. Hendricks | Benjamin Gratz Brown (LR) | 2,834,761 | 43.8% | 41 or 42 / 352 | ||
| William S. Groesbeck | 0 or 1 / 352 | ||||||
| George Washington Julian (LR) | 0 or 1 / 352 | ||||||
| John M. Palmer (LR) | 0 or 1 / 352 | ||||||
| Liberal Republican | Benjamin Gratz Brown | Alfred H. Colquitt (D) | 5 / 352 | ||||
| George Washington Julian | 4 or 5 / 352 | ||||||
| Thomas E. Bramlette (D) | 3 / 352 | ||||||
| John M. Palmer | 2 or 3 / 352 | ||||||
| Nathaniel P. Banks | 1 / 352 | ||||||
| Willis Benson Machen (D) | 1 / 352 | ||||||
| William S. Groesbeck (D) | 0 or 1 / 352 | ||||||
| Horace Greeley | Benjamin Gratz Brown | 3 / 352 | |||||
| Democratic | Charles J. Jenkins | Benjamin Gratz Brown | 2 / 352 | ||||
| Liberal Republican | David Davis | Benjamin Gratz Brown | 0 or 1 / 352 | ||||
| William S. Groesbeck (D) | 0 or 1 / 352 | ||||||
| George Washington Julian | 0 or 1 / 352 | ||||||
| John M. Palmer | 0 or 1 / 352 | ||||||
| 1876 | Republican | Rutherford B. Hayes | William A. Wheeler | 4,034,142 | 47.9% | 185 / 369 | |
| Democratic | Samuel J. Tilden | Thomas A. Hendricks | 4,286,808 | 50.9% | 184 / 369 | ||
| 1880 | Republican | James A. Garfield | Chester A. Arthur | 4,446,158 | 48.3% | 214 / 369 | |
| Democratic | Winfield Scott Hancock | William Hayden English | 4,444,260 | 48.3% | 155 / 369 | ||
| 1884 | Democratic | Grover Cleveland | Thomas A. Hendricks | 4,914,482 | 48.9% | 219 / 401 | |
| Republican | James G. Blaine | John A. Logan | 4,856,903 | 48.3% | 182 / 401 | ||
| 1888 | Republican | Benjamin Harrison | Levi P. Morton | 5,443,892 | 47.8% | 233 / 401 | |
| Democratic | Grover Cleveland | Allen G. Thurman | 5,534,488 | 48.6% | 168 / 401 | ||
| 1892 | Democratic | Grover Cleveland | Adlai Stevenson I | 5,553,898 | 46.0% | 277 / 444 | |
| Republican | Benjamin Harrison | Whitelaw Reid | 5,190,819 | 43.0% | 145 / 444 | ||
| Populist | James B. Weaver | James G. Field | 1,026,595 | 8.5% | 22 / 444 | ||
| 1896 | Republican | William McKinley | Garret Hobart | 7,111,607 | 51.0% | 271 / 447 | |
| Democratic/Populist | William Jennings Bryan | Arthur Sewall (D) | 6,509,052 | 46.7% | 149 / 447 | ||
| Thomas E. Watson (Pop.) | 27 / 447 | ||||||
| 1900 | Republican | William McKinley | Theodore Roosevelt | 7,228,864 | 51.6% | 292 / 447 | |
| Democratic | William Jennings Bryan | Adlai Stevenson I | 6,370,932 | 45.5% | 155 / 447 | ||
| 1904 | Republican | Theodore Roosevelt | Charles W. Fairbanks | 7,630,457 | 56.4% | 336 / 476 | |
| Democratic | Alton B. Parker | Henry G. Davis | 5,083,880 | 37.6% | 140 / 476 | ||
| 1908 | Republican | William Howard Taft | James S. Sherman | 7,678,335 | 51.6% | 321 / 483 | |
| Democratic | William Jennings Bryan | John W. Kern | 6,408,979 | 43.0% | 162 / 483 | ||
| 1912 | Democratic | Woodrow Wilson | Thomas R. Marshall | 6,296,284 | 41.8% | 435 / 531 | |
| Progressive | Theodore Roosevelt | Hiram Johnson | 4,122,721 | 27.4% | 88 / 531 | ||
| Republican | William Howard Taft | Nicholas Murray Butler | 3,486,242 | 23.2% | 8 / 531 | ||
| 1916 | Democratic | Woodrow Wilson | Thomas R. Marshall | 9,126,868 | 49.2% | 277 / 531 | |
| Republican | Charles Evans Hughes | Charles W. Fairbanks | 8,548,728 | 46.1% | 254 / 531 | ||
| 1920 | Republican | Warren G. Harding | Calvin Coolidge | 16,144,093 | 60.3% | 404 / 531 | |
| Democratic | James M. Cox | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 9,139,661 | 34.2% | 127 / 531 | ||
| 1924 | Republican | Calvin Coolidge | Charles G. Dawes | 15,723,789 | 54.0% | 382 / 531 | |
| Democratic | John W. Davis | Charles W. Bryan | 8,386,242 | 28.8% | 136 / 531 | ||
| Progressive | Robert M. La Follette | Burton K. Wheeler | 4,831,706 | 16.6% | 13 / 531 | ||
| 1928 | Republican | Herbert Hoover | Charles Curtis | 21,427,123 | 58.2% | 444 / 531 | |
| Democratic | Al Smith | Joseph Taylor Robinson | 15,015,464 | 40.8% | 87 / 531 | ||
| 1932 | Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt | John Nance Garner | 22,821,277 | 57.4% | 472 / 531 | |
| Republican | Herbert Hoover | Charles Curtis | 15,761,254 | 39.7% | 59 / 531 | ||
| 1936 | Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt | John Nance Garner | 27,752,648 | 60.8% | 523 / 531 | |
| Republican | Alf Landon | Frank Knox | 16,681,862 | 36.5% | 8 / 531 | ||
| 1940 | Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Henry A. Wallace | 27,313,945 | 54.7% | 449 / 531 | |
| Republican | Wendell Willkie | Charles L. McNary | 22,347,744 | 44.8% | 82 / 531 | ||
| 1944 | Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Harry S. Truman | 25,612,916 | 53.4% | 432 / 531 | |
| Republican | Thomas E. Dewey | John W. Bricker | 22,017,929 | 45.9% | 99 / 531 | ||
| 1948 | Democratic | Harry S. Truman | Alben W. Barkley | 24,179,347 | 49.6% | 303 / 531 | |
| Republican | Thomas E. Dewey | Earl Warren | 21,991,292 | 45.1% | 189 / 531 | ||
| Dixiecrat | Strom Thurmond | Fielding L. Wright | 1,175,930 | 2.4% | 39 / 531 | ||
| 1952 | Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Richard Nixon | 34,075,529 | 55.2% | 442 / 531 | |
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson II | John Sparkman | 27,375,090 | 44.3% | 89 / 531 | ||
| 1956 | Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Richard Nixon | 35,579,180 | 57.4% | 457 / 531 | |
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson II | Estes Kefauver | 26,028,028 | 42.0% | 73 / 531 | ||
| Walter Burgwyn Jones | Herman Talmadge | N/A | N/A | 1 / 531 | |||
| 1960 | Democratic | John F. Kennedy | Lyndon B. Johnson | 34,220,984 | 49.7% | 303 / 537 | |
| Republican | Richard Nixon | Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. | 34,108,157 | 49.6% | 219 / 537 | ||
| Southern Democratic | Harry F. Byrd | Strom Thurmond | 610,409 | 0.4% | 14 / 537 | ||
| Barry Goldwater (R) | 1 / 537 | ||||||
| 1964 | Democratic | Lyndon B. Johnson | Hubert Humphrey | 43,127,041 | 61.0% | 486 / 538 | |
| Republican | Barry Goldwater | William E. Miller | 27,175,754 | 38.5% | 52 / 538 | ||
| 1968 | Republican | Richard Nixon | Spiro Agnew | 31,783,783 | 43.4% | 301 / 538 | |
| Democratic | Hubert Humphrey | Edmund Muskie | 31,271,839 | 42.7% | 191 / 538 | ||
| American Independent | George Wallace | Curtis LeMay | 9,901,118 | 13.5% | 46 / 538 | ||
| 1972 | Republican | Richard Nixon | Spiro Agnew | 47,168,710 | 60.7% | 520 / 538 | |
| Democratic | George McGovern | Sargent Shriver | 29,173,222 | 37.5% | 17 / 538 | ||
| Libertarian | John Hospers | Tonie Nathan | 3,674 | <0.01% | 1 / 538 | ||
| 1976 | Democratic | Jimmy Carter | Walter Mondale | 40,831,881 | 50.1% | 297 / 538 | |
| Republican | Gerald Ford | Bob Dole | 39,148,634 | 48.0% | 240 / 538 | ||
| Ronald Reagan | N/A | N/A | 1 / 538 | ||||
| 1980 | Republican | Ronald Reagan | George H. W. Bush | 43,903,230 | 50.7% | 489 / 538 | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Carter | Walter Mondale | 35,480,115 | 41.0% | 49 / 538 | ||
| 1984 | Republican | Ronald Reagan | George H. W. Bush | 54,455,472 | 58.8% | 525 / 538 | |
| Democratic | Walter Mondale | Geraldine Ferraro | 37,577,352 | 40.6% | 13 / 538 | ||
| 1988 | Republican | George H. W. Bush | Dan Quayle | 48,886,597 | 53.4% | 426 / 538 | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | Lloyd Bentsen | 41,809,476 | 45.6% | 111 / 538 | ||
| Lloyd Bentsen | Michael Dukakis | N/A | N/A | 1 / 538 | |||
| 1992 | Democratic | Bill Clinton | Al Gore | 44,909,806 | 43.0% | 370 / 538 | |
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | Dan Quayle | 39,104,550 | 37.4% | 168 / 538 | ||
| 1996 | Democratic | Bill Clinton | Al Gore | 47,401,185 | 49.2% | 379 / 538 | |
| Republican | Bob Dole | Jack Kemp | 39,197,469 | 40.7% | 159 / 538 | ||
| 2000 | Republican | George W. Bush | Dick Cheney | 50,456,002 | 47.9% | 271 / 538 | |
| Democratic | Al Gore | Joe Lieberman | 50,999,897 | 48.4% | 266 / 538 | ||
| 2004 | Republican | George W. Bush | Dick Cheney | 62,040,610 | 50.7% | 286 / 538 | |
| Democratic | John Kerry | John Edwards | 59,028,444 | 48.3% | 251 / 538 | ||
| John Edwards | 5 | <0.01% | 1 / 538 | ||||
| 2008 | Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 69,498,516 | 52.9% | 365 / 538 | |
| Republican | John McCain | Sarah Palin | 59,948,323 | 45.7% | 173 / 538 | ||
| 2012 | Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 65,915,795 | 51.1% | 332 / 538 | |
| Republican | Mitt Romney | Paul Ryan | 60,933,504 | 47.2% | 206 / 538 | ||
| 2016 | Republican | Donald Trump | Mike Pence | 62,984,828 | 46.1% | 304 / 538 | |
| Ron Paul (L) | 124 | <0.01% | 1 / 538 | ||||
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton | Tim Kaine | 65,853,514 | 48.2% | 227 / 538 | ||
| Republican (cast by Democratic electors) | Colin Powell | Susan Collins | 25 | <0.01% | 1 / 538 | ||
| Maria Cantwell (D) | 1 / 538 | ||||||
| Elizabeth Warren (D) | 1 / 538 | ||||||
| Republican | John Kasich | Carly Fiorina | 2,684 | <0.01% | 1 / 538 | ||
| Democratic | Bernie Sanders | Elizabeth Warren | 108,776 | 0.08% | 1 / 538 | ||
| Faith Spotted Eagle | Winona LaDuke (G) | N/A | N/A | 1 / 538 | |||
| 2020 | Democratic | Joe Biden | Kamala Harris | 81,283,501 | 51.3% | 306 / 538 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump | Mike Pence | 74,223,975 | 46.9% | 232 / 538 | ||
| 2024 | Republican | Donald Trump | JD Vance | 77,302,169 | 49.8% | 312 / 538 | |
| Democratic | Kamala Harris | Tim Walz | 75,015,834 | 48.3% | 226 / 538 | ||
| Green | Jill Stein | 861,141 | 0.5% | 0 / 538 | |||
| American Independent | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | 756,377 | 0.5% | 0 / 538 | |||
| Libertarian | Chase Oliver | 650,142 | 0.4% | 0 / 538 | |||
| Other | Other Candidates | 833,975 | 0.5% | 0 / 538 |
Maps of results
|
Popular vote results
Historically, presidents seeking re-election with a job approval rating of 50 percent or higher among American voters have easily won a second term, while those with an approval rating of less than 50 percent have lost the election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | George Washington | 43,782 | 100% | |
| Federalist | John Adams (vice president) | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | John Jay | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | Robert H. Harrison | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | John Rutledge | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | John Hancock | n/a | n/a | |
| Anti-Administration | George Clinton | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | Samuel Huntington | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | John Milton | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | James Armstrong | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | Benjamin Lincoln | n/a | n/a | |
| Anti-Administration | Edward Telfair | n/a | n/a | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | George Washington | 28,579 | 100% | |
| Federalist | John Adams (vice president) | n/a | n/a | |
| Democratic-Republican | George Clinton | n/a | n/a | |
| Democratic-Republican | Thomas Jefferson | n/a | n/a | |
| Democratic-Republican | Aaron Burr | n/a | n/a | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federalist | John Adams | 35,726 | 53.4% | |
| Democratic-Republican | Thomas Jefferson (vice president) | 31,115 | 46.5% | |
| Democratic-Republican | Aaron Burr | n/a | n/a | |
| Democratic-Republican | Samuel Adams | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | Oliver Ellsworth | n/a | n/a | |
| Democratic-Republican | George Clinton | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | John Jay | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | James Iredell | n/a | n/a | |
| Independent | George Washington | n/a | n/a | |
| Democratic-Republican | John Henry | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | Samuel Johnston | n/a | n/a | |
| Federalist | Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | n/a | n/a | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican | Thomas Jefferson/Aaron Burr | 41,330 | 61.4% | |
| Federalist | John Adams/Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | 25,952 | 38.6% | |
| Federalist | John Adams/John Jay | 0 | 0% | |
| CT | DE | GA | KY | MD | MA | NH | NJ | NY | NC | PA | RI | SC | TN | VT | VA | ||||||||
| 0-7 | 0-0-1 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 4-0-4 | 3-11 | 0-4 | 3-2 | 6-4 | 6-4 | 9-4 | 0-2 | 0-0-4 | 1-0 | 1-0-1 | 14–5 | ||||||||
| State delegations won by Jefferson are color coded in green, and those won by Burr in red. Vote results listed in that order, with abstentions at end. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican | Thomas Jefferson/George Clinton | 104,110 | 72.8% | |
| Federalist | Charles Cotesworth Pinckney/Rufus King | 38,919 | 27.2% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican | James Madison/George Clinton | 124,732 | 64.7% | |
| Federalist | Charles Cotesworth Pinckney/Rufus King | 62,431 | 32.4% | |
| Democratic-Republican | James Monroe | 4,848 | 2.5% | |
| Democratic-Republican | George Clinton/James Madison and James Monroe | 0 | 0% | |
| None | Unpledged electors | 680 | 0.4% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican | James Madison/Elbridge Gerry | 140,431 | 50.4% | |
| Democratic-Republican | DeWitt Clinton/Jared Ingersoll and Elbridge Gerry | 132,781 | 47.6% | |
| Federalist | Rufus King | 5,574 | 2.0% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican | James Monroe/Daniel D. Tompkins | 76,592 | 68.2% | |
| Federalist | Rufus King/Multiple | 34,740 | 30.9% | |
| None | Unpledged electors | 1,038 | 0.9% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican | James Monroe/Daniel D. Tompkins | 87,343 | 80.6% | |
| Federalist | No candidate | 17,465 | 16.12% | |
| Democratic-Republican | John Quincy Adams/Richard Rush (Federalist) | 2,215 | 2.04% | |
| Democratic-Republican | DeWitt Clinton | 1,893 | 1.75% | |
| Independent | Unpledged electors | 1,658 | 1.53% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican | John Quincy Adams/John C. Calhoun and Andrew Jackson | 113,122 | 30.9% | |
| Democratic-Republican | Andrew Jackson/John C. Calhoun | 151,271 | 41.4% | |
| Democratic-Republican | William H. Crawford/Multiple | 40,856 | 11.2% | |
| Democratic-Republican | Henry Clay/Multiple | 47,531 | 13% | |
| None | Unpledged electors | 6,616 | 1.81% | |
This election was in many ways unique in American history: several different factions of the Democratic-Republican Party were named after the last names of the candidates in this race, and nominated their own candidates. As no candidate received a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives chose Adams to be president.
| House vote for president, 1824 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| AL | CT | DE | GA | IL | IN | KY | LA | ME | MD | MA | MS | MO | NH | NJ | NY | NC | OH | PN | RI | SC | TN | VT | VI |
| 0-3-0 | 6-0-0 | 0-0-1 | 0-0-7 | 1-0-0 | 0-3-0 | 8-4-0 | 2-1-0 | 7-0-0 | 5-3-1 | 12-1-0 | 0-1-0 | 1-0-0 | 6-0-0 | 1-5-0 | 18-2-14 | 1-1-10 | 10-2-2 | 1-25-0 | 2-0-0 | 0-9-0 | 0-9-0 | 5-0-0 | 1–1–19 |
| State delegations that Adams won are colored in green, blue for Jackson, and orange for Crawford. Vote results listed in that order. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Andrew Jackson/John C. Calhoun | 642,553 | 56.0% | |
| National Republican | John Quincy Adams/Richard Rush | 500,897 | 43.6% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Andrew Jackson/Martin Van Buren | 701,780 | 54.2% | |
| National Republican | Henry Clay/John Sergeant | 484,205 | 37.4% | |
| Nullifier | John Floyd/Henry Lee | 0 | 0% | |
| Anti-Masonic | William Wirt/Amos Ellmaker | 100,715 | 7.8% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Martin Van Buren/Richard Mentor Johnson | 764,176 | 56.0% | |
| Whig | William Henry Harrison/Francis Granger | 549,907 | 36.6% | |
| Whig | Hugh Lawson White/John Tyler | 146,107 | 9.7% | |
| Whig | Daniel Webster/Francis Granger | 41,201 | 2.7% | |
| Whig | Willie Person Mangum/John Tyler | 0 | 0% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | William Henry Harrison/John Tyler | 1,275,390 | 52.9% | |
| Democratic | Martin Van Buren/Richard Mentor Johnson | 1,128,854 | 46.8% | |
| Liberty | James G. Birney/Thomas Earle | 7,453 | 0.31% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James K. Polk/George M. Dallas | 1,339,494 | 49.5% | |
| Whig | Henry Clay/Theodore Frelinghuysen | 1,300,004 | 48.1% | |
| Liberty | James G. Birney/Thomas Morris | 62,103 | 2.30% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Zachary Taylor/Millard Fillmore | 1,361,393 | 47.3% | |
| Democratic | Lewis Cass/William Orlando Butler | 1,223,460 | 42.5% | |
| Free Soil | Martin Van Buren/Charles Francis Adams Sr. | 291,501 | 10.1% | |
| Liberty | Gerrit Smith/Charles C. Foote | 2,545 | 0.09% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Franklin Pierce/William R. King | 1,607,510 | 50.8% | |
| Whig | Winfield Scott/William Alexander Graham | 1,386,942 | 43.9% | |
| Free Soil | John P. Hale/George Washington Julian | 155,210 | 4.9% | |
| Union | Daniel Webster/Charles J. Jenkins | 6,994 | 0.22% | |
| Know Nothing | Jacob Broom/Reynell Coates | 2,566 | 0.08% | |
| Southern Rights | George Troup/John A. Quitman | 2,331 | 0.07% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Buchanan/John C. Breckinridge | 1,836,072 | 45.3% | |
| Republican | John C. Frémont/William L. Dayton | 1,342,345 | 33.1% | |
| Know Nothing | Millard Fillmore/Andrew Jackson Donelson | 873,053 | 21.6% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Abraham Lincoln/Hannibal Hamlin | 1,865,908 | 39.8% | |
| Southern Democratic | John C. Breckinridge/Joseph Lane | 848,019 | 18.1% | |
| Constitutional Union | John Bell/Edward Everett | 590,901 | 12.6% | |
| Democratic | Stephen A. Douglas/Herschel V. Johnson | 1,380,202 | 29.5% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Union | Abraham Lincoln/Andrew Johnson | 2,218,388 | 55.0% | |
| Democratic | George B. McClellan/George H. Pendleton | 1,812,807 | 45.0% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ulysses S. Grant/Schuyler Colfax | 3,013,650 | 52.7% | |
| Democratic | Horatio Seymour/Francis Preston Blair Jr. | 2,708,744 | 47.3% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ulysses S. Grant/Henry Wilson | 3,598,235 | 55.6% | |
| Liberal Republican | Horace Greeley/Benjamin Gratz Brown | 2,834,761 | 43.8% | |
| Straight-Out Democrats | Charles O'Conor/John Quincy Adams II | 18,602 | 0.3% | |
| Prohibition | James Black/John Russell | 5,607 | 0.1% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rutherford B. Hayes/William A. Wheeler | 4,034,142 | 47.9% | |
| Democratic | Samuel J. Tilden/Thomas A. Hendricks | 4,286,808 | 50.9% | |
| Greenback | Peter Cooper/Samuel Fenton Cary | 83,726 | 0.99% | |
| Prohibition | Green Clay Smith/Gideon T. Stewart | 6,945 | 0.08% | |
| National | James Walker/Donald Kirkpatrick | 463 | 0.01% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James A. Garfield/Chester A. Arthur | 4,446,158 | 48.3% | |
| Democratic | Winfield Scott Hancock/William Hayden English | 4,444,260 | 48.3% | |
| Greenback | James B. Weaver/Barzillai J. Chambers | 308,649 | 3.35% | |
| Prohibition | Neal Dow/Henry Adams Thompson | 10,364 | 0.11% | |
| Anti-Masonic | John W. Phelps/Samuel C. Pomeroy | 1,045 | 0.01% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Grover Cleveland/Thomas A. Hendricks | 4,914,482 | 48.9% | |
| Republican | James G. Blaine/John A. Logan | 4,856,903 | 48.3% | |
| Prohibition | John St. John/William Daniel | 147,482 | 1.50% | |
| Anti-Monopoly | Benjamin Butler/Absolom M. West | 134,294 | 1.33% | |
| National Equal Rights Party | Belva Ann Lockwood/Marietta Stow | 4,194 | 0.04% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Benjamin Harrison/Levi P. Morton | 5,443,892 | 47.8% | |
| Democratic | Grover Cleveland/Allen G. Thurman | 5,534,488 | 48.6% | |
| Prohibition | Clinton B. Fisk/John A. Brooks | 249,819 | 2.20% | |
| Labor | Alson Streeter/Charles E. Cunningham | 146,602 | 1.31% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Grover Cleveland/Adlai Stevenson I | 5,553,898 | 46% | |
| Republican | Benjamin Harrison/Whitelaw Reid | 5,190,819 | 43% | |
| Populist | James B. Weaver/James G. Field | 1,026,595 | 8.5% | |
| Prohibition | John Bidwell/James Cranfill | 270,879 | 2.24% | |
| Socialist Labor | Simon Wing/Charles Matchett | 21,173 | 0.18% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William McKinley/Garret Hobart | 7,111,607 | 51% | |
| Democratic | William Jennings Bryan/Arthur Sewall | 6,509,052 | 46.7% | |
| National Democratic | John M. Palmer/Simon Bolivar Buckner | 134,645 | 0.97% | |
| Prohibition | Joshua Levering/Hale Johnson | 131,312 | 0.94% | |
| Socialist Labor | Charles H. Matchett/Matthew Maguire | 36,373 | 0.26% | |
| National Prohibition Party | Charles Eugene Bentley/James H. Southgate | 13,968 | 0.10% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William McKinley/Theodore Roosevelt | 7,228,864 | 51.6% | |
| Democratic | William Jennings Bryan/Adlai Stevenson I | 6,370,932 | 45.5% | |
| Prohibition | John G. Woolley/Henry B. Metcalf | 210,864 | 1.51% | |
| Social Democratic | Eugene V. Debs/Job Harriman | 87,945 | 0.63% | |
| Populist | Wharton Barker/Ignatius L. Donnelly | 50,989 | 0.36% | |
| Socialist Labor | Joseph F. Malloney/Valentine Remmel | 40,943 | 0.29% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Theodore Roosevelt/Charles W. Fairbanks | 7,630,457 | 56.4% | |
| Democratic | Alton B. Parker/Henry G. Davis | 5,083,880 | 37.6% | |
| Socialist | Eugene V. Debs/Benjamin Hanford | 402,810 | 2.98% | |
| Prohibition | Silas C. Swallow/George Washington Carroll | 259,102 | 1.92% | |
| Populist | Thomas E. Watson/Thomas Tibbles | 114,070 | 0.84% | |
| Socialist Labor | Charles Hunter Corregan/William Wesley Cox | 33,454 | 0.25% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William Howard Taft/James S. Sherman | 7,678,335 | 51.6% | |
| Democratic | William Jennings Bryan/John W. Kern | 6,408,979 | 43% | |
| Socialist | Eugene V. Debs/Benjamin Hanford | 420,852 | 2.83% | |
| Prohibition | Eugene W. Chafin/Aaron S. Watkins | 254,087 | 1.71% | |
| Independence | Thomas L. Hisgen/John Temple Graves | 82,574 | 0.55% | |
| Populist | Thomas E. Watson/Samuel Williams | 28,862 | 0.19% | |
| Socialist Labor | August Gillhaus/Donald L. Munro | 14,031 | 0.09% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Woodrow Wilson/Thomas R. Marshall | 6,296,284 | 41.8% | |
| Progressive | Theodore Roosevelt/Hiram Johnson | 4,122,721 | 27% | |
| Republican | William Howard Taft/Nicholas Murray Butler | 3,486,242 | 23.2% | |
| Socialist | Eugene V. Debs/Emil Seidel | 901,551 | 6% | |
| Prohibition | Eugene W. Chafin/Aaron S. Watkins | 208,156 | 1.38% | |
| Socialist Labor | Arthur E. Reimer/August Gillhaus | 29,324 | 0.19% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Woodrow Wilson/Thomas R. Marshall | 9,126,868 | 49.2% | |
| Republican | Charles Evans Hughes/Charles W. Fairbanks | 8,548,728 | 46.1% | |
| Socialist | Allan L. Benson/George Ross Kirkpatrick | 590,524 | 3.19% | |
| Prohibition | Frank Hanly/Ira Landrith | 221,302 | 1.19% | |
| Progressive Party (United States, 1912–1920) | None/John M. Parker | 33,406 | 0.18% | |
| Socialist Labor | Arthur E. Reimer/Caleb Harrison | 15,295 | 0.08% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Warren G. Harding/Calvin Coolidge | 16,114,093 | 60.3% | |
| Democratic | James M. Cox/Franklin D. Roosevelt | 9,139,661 | 34.2% | |
| Socialist | Eugene V. Debs/Seymour Stedman | 914,191 | 3.41% | |
| Farmer–Labor | Parley P. Christensen/Max S. Hayes | 265,395 | 0.99% | |
| Prohibition | Aaron S. Watkins/D. Leigh Colvin | 188,709 | 0.70% | |
| American Party (Texas) | James E. Ferguson/William J. Hough | 47,968 | 0.18% | |
| Socialist Labor | William Wesley Cox/August Gillhaus | 31,084 | 0.12% | |
| Single Tax | / | 5,750 | 0.02% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Calvin Coolidge/Charles G. Dawes | 15,723,789 | 54% | |
| Democratic | John W. Davis/Charles W. Bryan | 8,386,242 | 28.8% | |
| Progressive | Robert M. La Follette/Burton K. Wheeler | 4,831,706 | 16.6% | |
| Prohibition | Herman P. Faris/Marie C. Brehm | 55,951 | 0.19% | |
| Communist | William Z. Foster/Benjamin Gitlow | 38,669 | 0.13% | |
| Socialist Labor | Frank T. Johns/Verne L. Reynolds | 28,633 | 0.10% | |
| American | Gilbert Nations/Charles Hiram Randall | 24,325 | 0.08% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Herbert Hoover/Charles Curtis | 21,427,123 | 58.2% | |
| Democratic | Al Smith/Joseph Taylor Robinson | 15,015,464 | 40.8% | |
| Socialist | Norman Thomas/James H. Maurer | 267,478 | 0.73% | |
| Communist | William Z. Foster/Benjamin Gitlow | 48,551 | 0.13% | |
| Socialist Labor | Verne L. Reynolds/Jeremiah D. Crowley | 21,590 | 0.06% | |
| Prohibition | William F. Varney/James A. Edgerton | 20,095 | 0.05% | |
| Farmer–Labor | / | 6,390 | 0.02% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt/John Nance Garner | 22,821,277 | 57.4% | |
| Republican | Herbert Hoover/Charles Curtis | 15,761,254 | 39.7% | |
| Socialist | Norman Thomas/James H. Maurer | 884,885 | 2.23% | |
| Communist | William Z. Foster/James W. Ford | 103,307 | 0.26% | |
| Prohibition | William David Upshaw/Frank S. Regan | 81,905 | 0.21% | |
| Liberty | William Hope Harvey/ | 53,425 | 0.13% | |
| Socialist Labor | Verne L. Reynolds/John W. Aiken | 34,038 | 0.09% | |
| Farmer–Labor | Jacob S. Coxey Sr./ | 7,431 | 0.02% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt/John Nance Garner | 27,752,648 | 60.8% | |
| Republican | Alf Landon/Frank Knox | 16,681,862 | 36.5% | |
| Union | William Lemke/Thomas C. O'Brien | 892,378 | 1.95% | |
| Socialist | Norman Thomas/George A. Nelson | 187,910 | 0.41% | |
| Communist | Earl Browder/James W. Ford | 79,315 | 0.17% | |
| Prohibition | D. Leigh Colvin/Claude A. Watson | 37,646 | 0.08% | |
| Socialist Labor | John W. Aiken/ | 12,799 | 0.03% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt/Henry A. Wallace | 27,313,945 | 54.7% | |
| Republican | Wendell Willkie/Charles L. McNary | 22,347,744 | 44.8% | |
| Socialist | Norman Thomas/Maynard C. Krueger | 116,599 | 0.23% | |
| Prohibition | Roger Babson/ | 57,903 | 0.12% | |
| Communist | Earl Browder/James W. Ford | 48,557 | 0.10% | |
| Socialist Labor | John W. Aiken/ | 14,883 | 0.03% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt/Harry S. Truman | 25,612,916 | 53.4% | |
| Republican | Thomas E. Dewey/John W. Bricker | 22,017,929 | 45.9% | |
| Texas Regulars | None | 143,238 | 0.30% | |
| Socialist | Norman Thomas/Darlington Hoopes | 79,017 | 0.16% | |
| Prohibition | Claude A. Watson/Andrew N. Johnson | 74,758 | 0.16% | |
| Socialist Labor | Edward A. Teichert/ | 45,188 | 0.09% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Harry S. Truman/Alben W. Barkley | 24,179,347 | 49.6% | |
| Republican | Thomas E. Dewey/Earl Warren | 21,991,292 | 45.1% | |
| Dixiecrat | Strom Thurmond/Fielding L. Wright | 1,175,930 | 2.4% | |
| Progressive | Henry A. Wallace/Glen H. Taylor | 1,157,328 | 2.4% | |
| Socialist | Norman Thomas/Tucker P. Smith | 139,569 | 0.29% | |
| Prohibition | Claude A. Watson/Dale Learn | 103,708 | 0.21% | |
| Socialist Labor | Edward A. Teichert/Stephen Emery | 29,244 | 0.06% | |
| Socialist Workers | Farrell Dobbs/Grace Carlson | 13,613 | 0.03% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower/Richard Nixon | 34,075,529 | 55.2% | |
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson II/John Sparkman | 27,375,090 | 44.3% | |
| Progressive | Vincent Hallinan/Charlotta Bass | 140,746 | 0.23% | |
| Prohibition | Stuart Hamblen/Enoch A. Holtwick | 73,412 | 0.12% | |
| Socialist Labor | Eric Hass/Stephen Emery | 30,406 | 0.05% | |
| Socialist | Darlington Hoopes/Samuel H. Friedman | 20,203 | 0.03% | |
| Constitution Party (United States, 1952) | Douglas MacArthur/Harry F. Byrd | 17,205 | 0.03% | |
| Socialist Workers | Farrell Dobbs/Myra Tanner Weiss | 10,312 | 0.02% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower/Richard Nixon | 35,579,180 | 57.4% | |
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson II/Estes Kefauver | 26,028,028 | 42% | |
| Dixiecrat | T. Coleman Andrews/Thomas H. Werdel | 305,274 | 0.5% | |
| Independent | (Unpledged Electors) | 196,318 | 0.32% | |
| Socialist Labor | Eric Hass/Georgia Cozzini | 44,450 | 0.07% | |
| Prohibition | Enoch A. Holtwick/ | |||
The election of the president and for vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U S states or in Washington D C cast ballots not directly for those offices but instead for members of the Electoral College These electors then cast direct votes known as electoral votes for president and for vice president The candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes at least 270 out of 538 since the Twenty Third Amendment granted voting rights to citizens of D C is then elected to that office If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes for president the House of Representatives elects the president likewise if no one receives an absolute majority of the votes for vice president then the Senate elects the vice president A ballot for the 2016 presidential election and for other elections that year listing the presidential and vice presidential candidates United States presidential elections differ from many other republics around the world operating under either the presidential system or the semi presidential system which use direct elections from the national popular vote one person one vote of their entire countries to elect their respective presidents The United States instead uses indirect elections for its president through the Electoral College and the system is highly decentralized like other elections in the United States The Electoral College and its procedure are established in the U S Constitution by Article II Section 1 Clauses 2 and 4 and the Twelfth Amendment which replaced Clause 3 after its ratification in 1804 Under Clause 2 each state casts as many electoral votes as the total number of its Senators and Representatives in Congress while per the Twenty third Amendment ratified in 1961 Washington D C casts the same number of electoral votes as the least represented state which is three Also under Clause 2 the manner for choosing electors is determined by each state legislature not directly by the federal government Many state legislatures previously selected their electors directly but over time all switched to using votes cast by state voters to choose the state s members of the electoral college electors Beyond the parameters set in the U S Constitution state law not federal regulates most aspects of administering the popular vote including most of the voter eligibility and registration requirements Almost all states edict the winner of the plurality of its constituent statewide popular vote one person one vote shall receive all of that state s electors winner takes all A couple Nebraska and Maine determine a part of their electors by use of district votes within the respective state Eighteen states also have specific laws that punish electors who vote in opposition to the plurality known as faithless or unpledged electors In modern times faithless and unpledged electors have not affected the ultimate outcome of an election so the results can generally be determined based on the state by state popular vote In addition most of the time the winner as determined by the electoral college also has received the largest part of the national popular vote There have been four exceptions 1876 1888 2000 and 2016 in which the Electoral College winner s portion of the popular vote was surpassed by an opponent Although taking fewer votes the winner claimed more electoral college seats due to winning close and narrow pluralities in numerous swing states In addition the 1824 election was the only presidential election under the current system decided by a contingent election in Congress that elected a different president than the candidate with a plurality in both the electoral and popular vote The 1800 election and the 1824 election were decided in the House In 1800 the House winner was the candidate who had won a plurality of the popular vote Presidential elections occur every four years on Election Day which since 1845 has been the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November This date coincides with the general elections of various other federal state and local races since local governments are responsible for managing elections these races typically all appear on one ballot The Electoral College electors then formally cast their electoral votes on the first Monday after December 12 at their state s capital Congress then certifies the results in early January and the presidential term begins on Inauguration Day which since the passage of the Twentieth Amendment has been set at January 20 The nomination process consisting of the primary elections and caucuses and the nominating conventions was not specified in the Constitution but was developed over time by the states and political parties These primary elections are generally held between January and June before the general election in November while the nominating conventions are held in the summer Though not codified by law political parties also follow an indirect election process where voters in the fifty states Washington D C and U S territories cast ballots for a slate of delegates to a political party s nominating convention who then elect their party s presidential nominee Each party may then choose a vice presidential running mate to join the ticket which is either determined by choice of the nominee or by a second round of voting Because of changes to national campaign finance laws since the 1970s regarding the disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns presidential candidates from the major political parties usually declare their intentions to run as early as the spring of the previous calendar year before the election almost 21 months before Inauguration Day HistoryElectoral College Article Two of the Constitution originally established the method of presidential elections including the creation of the Electoral College This was the result of a compromise between those constitutional framers who wanted Congress to choose the president and those who preferred a national popular vote As set forth in Article Two each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its delegates in both houses of Congress combined In 1961 the ratification of the Twenty Third Amendment granted a number of electors to the District of Columbia an amount equal to the number of electors allocated to the least populous state However U S territories are not allocated electors and therefore are not represented in the Electoral College State legislatures direct election Constitutionally the legislature of each state determines how its electors are chosen Article II Section 1 Clause 2 states that each state shall appoint electors in such Manner as the Legislature Thereof May Direct During the first presidential election in 1789 in four of the 11 states of the time the electors were elected directly by voters In two others a hybrid system was used where both the voters and the state legislatures took part in electing the electors In five the state legislatures themselves elected the electors Gradually more states began conducting popular elections to choose their slate of electors In 1800 five of the 16 states chose electors by a popular vote by 1824 after the rise of Jacksonian democracy 18 of the 24 states chose electors by popular vote In most cases simple state wide plurality is sufficient to elect a general ticket using popular vote But in the first presidential election in 1789 for example some states used open list block voting Maryland used block voting but had guaranteed seats for different parts of the state Virginia elected its 12 electors by first past the post voting contest in 12 districts Other states later used multi member districts each covering a part of the state to elect their electors This movement toward greater democratization coincided with a gradual decrease in property restrictions for the franchise By 1840 only one of the 26 states South Carolina still selected electors by the state legislature Every other state was electing its electors by general ticket plurality voting state wide By 1872 no states elected their electors using the state legislature all the states had switched to the general ticket method Colorado having been the last hold out And today only two states Maine and Nebraska elect at least some of their electors through a different method than that general ticket method in their cases it is First past the post voting in districts covering part of the state Vice presidents Under the original system established by Article Two electors cast votes for two candidates for president The candidate with the highest number of votes provided it was a majority of the electoral votes became the president and the second place candidate became the vice president This presented a problem during the presidential election of 1800 when Aaron Burr received the same number of electoral votes as Thomas Jefferson and challenged Jefferson s election to the office In the end Jefferson was chosen as the president because of Alexander Hamilton s influence in the House In response to the 1800 election the Twelfth Amendment was passed requiring electors to cast two distinct votes one for president and another for vice president While this solved the problem at hand it reduced the prestige of the vice presidency as the office was no longer held by the leading challenger for the presidency The separate ballots for president and vice president became something of a moot issue later in the 19th century when it became the norm for popular elections to determine a state s Electoral College delegation Electors chosen this way are pledged to vote for a particular presidential and vice presidential candidate offered by the same political party Although the president and vice president are legally elected separately in practice they are chosen together Tie votes The Twelfth Amendment also established rules when no candidate wins a majority vote in the Electoral College In the presidential election of 1824 Andrew Jackson received a plurality but not a majority of electoral votes cast The election was thrown to the House and John Quincy Adams was elected president A deep rivalry resulted between Andrew Jackson and House Speaker Henry Clay who had also been a candidate in the election Since the vice presidential candidate John Calhoun received a majority of votes having been on the ticket for both Jackson and Adams there was no need for the Senate to vote for a vice president Popular vote Since 1824 aside from the occasional faithless elector the popular vote indirectly determines the winner of a presidential election by determining the electoral vote as each state or district s popular vote determines its electoral college vote Although the nationwide popular vote does not directly determine the winner of a presidential election it does strongly correlate with who is the victor In 54 of the 59 total elections held so far about 91 percent the winner of the national popular vote has also carried the Electoral College vote The winners of the nationwide popular vote and the Electoral College vote have differed only in close elections In highly competitive elections candidates focus on turning out their vote in the contested swing states critical to winning an electoral college majority so they do not try to maximize their popular vote by real or fraudulent vote increases in one party areas However candidates have failed to get the most votes in the nationwide popular vote in a presidential election and still won In the 1824 election Jackson won the popular vote but no one received a majority of electoral votes According to the Twelfth Amendment the House must choose the president out of the top three people in the election Clay had come in fourth so he threw his support to Adams who then won Because Adams later named Clay his Secretary of State Jackson s supporters claimed that Adams gained the presidency by making a deal with Clay Charges of a corrupt bargain followed Adams through his term Comparison of the popular vote totals since 1900 Republican Democratic All other candidates together In five presidential elections 1824 1876 1888 2000 and 2016 the winner of the electoral vote lost the popular vote outright Numerous constitutional amendments have been submitted seeking to replace the Electoral College with a direct popular vote but none has ever successfully passed both Houses of Congress Another alternate proposal is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact an interstate compact whereby individual participating states agree to allocate their electors based on the winner of the national popular vote instead of their respective statewide results Election dates This section is empty You can help by adding to it November 2024 Electoral Count Act of 1887 Congress passed the Electoral Count Act in 1887 in response to the disputed 1876 election in which several states submitted competing slates of electors The law established procedures for the counting of electoral votes It has subsequently been codified into law in Title 3 of the United States Code It also includes a safe harbor deadline where states must finally resolve any controversies over the selection of their electors Inauguration day This section is empty You can help by adding to it November 2024 Campaign spending The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 was enacted to increase disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns Subsequent amendments to law require that candidates to a federal office must file a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission before they can receive contributions aggregating in excess of 5 000 or make expenditures aggregating in excess of 5 000 Thus this began a trend of presidential candidates declaring their intentions to run as early as the spring of the preceding calendar year so they can start raising and spending the money needed for their nationwide campaign Political parties There is no provision for the role of political parties in the U S Constitution since the Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan Thus the first president George Washington was elected as an independent Since the emergence of the American two party system and the election of Washington s successor John Adams in 1796 all winners of U S presidential elections have represented one of two major parties Third parties have taken second place only twice in 1860 and 1912 The last time a third independent candidate achieved significant success although still finishing in third place was Ross Perot in 1992 and the last time a third party candidate received any electoral votes not from faithless electors was George Wallace in 1968 Primaries caucuses and nominating conventions In the first two presidential elections the Electoral College handled both the nominations and elections in 1789 and 1792 that selected Washington Starting with the 1796 election congressional party or a state legislature party caucus selected the party s presidential candidates That system collapsed in 1824 and since 1832 the preferred mechanism for nomination has been a national convention Delegates to the national convention were usually selected at state conventions whose own delegates were chosen by district conventions Sometimes they were dominated by intrigue between political bosses who controlled delegates the national convention was far from democratic or transparent Progressive Era reformers then looked to the primary election as a way to measure popular opinion of candidates as opposed to the opinion of the bosses Florida enacted the first presidential primary in 1901 The Wisconsin direct open primary of 1905 was the first to eliminate the caucus and mandate direct selection of national convention delegates In 1910 Oregon became the first state to establish a presidential preference primary which requires delegates to the National Convention to support the winner of the primary at the convention The impetus for national adoption of the binding primary election was the 1968 Democratic National Convention Vice President Hubert Humphrey secured the presidential nomination despite not winning a single primary under his own name After this a Democratic National Committee commissioned panel led by Senator George McGovern the McGovern Fraser Commission recommended that states adopt new rules to assure wider participation A large number of states faced with the need to conform to more detailed rules for the selection of national delegates in 1972 chose a presidential primary as an easier way to come into compliance with the new national Democratic Party rules The result was that many more future delegates would be selected by a state presidential primary The Republicans also adopted many more state presidential primaries ProcedureEligibility requirements The hand written copy of the natural born citizen clause as it appeared in 1787 Article Two of the Constitution stipulates that for a person to serve as president the individual must be a natural born citizen of the United States at least 35 years old and a resident of the United States for a period of no less than 14 years A candidate may start running their campaign early before turning 35 years old or completing 14 years of residency but must meet the age and residency requirements by Inauguration Day The Twenty second Amendment to the Constitution also sets a term limit a president cannot be elected to more than two terms The U S Constitution also has two provisions that apply to all federal officers appointed by the president and debatably also to the presidency When Senator Barack Obama was elected president a legal debate concluded that the president was not an office under the United States for many reasons but most significantly because Article I Section 3 Clause 7 would violate the legal principle of surplusage if the president were also a civil officer There exists no case law to resolve the debate however public opinion seems to favor that the presidency is also bound by the following qualifications Upon conviction at impeachment the Senate may vote to disqualify that person from holding any public office under the United States in the future Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the election to any federal office of any person who engaged in insurrection after having held any federal or state office rebellion or treason this disqualification can be waived if such an individual gains the consent of two thirds of both houses of Congress In addition the Twelfth Amendment establishes that the vice president must meet all the qualifications of being a president Although not a mandatory requirement Federal campaign finance laws including the Federal Election Campaign Act state that a candidate who intends to receive contributions aggregating in excess of 5 000 or make expenditures aggregating in excess of 5 000 among others must first file a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission This has led presidential candidates especially members from the two major political parties to officially announce their intentions to run as early as the spring of the previous calendar year so they can start raising or spending the money needed for their nationwide campaign Potential candidates usually form exploratory committees even earlier to determine the feasibility of them actually running Decentralized election system and voter eligibility The U S presidential election process like all other elections in the United States is a highly decentralized system While the U S Constitution does set parameters for the election of the president and other federal officials state law not federal regulates most aspects of elections in the U S including the primaries the eligibility of voters beyond the basic constitutional definition and the specific details of running each state s electoral college meeting All elections including federal are administered by the individual states Thus the presidential election is really an amalgamation of separate state elections instead of a single national election run by the federal government Candidates must submit separate filings in each of the 50 states if they want to qualify on each state s ballot and the requirements for filing vary by state The eligibility of an individual for voting is set out in the Constitution and regulated at state level The 15th 19th and 26th Amendments to the Constitution state that suffrage cannot be denied on grounds of race or color sex or age for citizens eighteen years or older respectively Beyond these basic qualifications it is the responsibility of state legislatures to regulate voter eligibility and registration And the specific requirements for voter eligibility and registration also vary by state e g some states ban convicted felons from voting Nominating process A 2008 Democratic caucus meeting in Iowa City Iowa The Iowa caucuses are traditionally the first major electoral event of presidential primaries and caucuses Madison Square Garden in New York City the site of the 1976 1980 and 1992 Democratic National Conventions and the 2004 Republican National ConventionThe floor of the 2008 Republican National Convention at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul Minnesota The modern nominating process of U S presidential elections consists of two major parts a series of presidential primary elections and caucuses held in each state and the presidential nominating conventions held by each political party This process was never included in the Constitution and thus evolved over time by the political parties to clear the field of candidates The primary elections are run by state and local governments while the caucuses are organized directly by the political parties Some states hold only primary elections some hold only caucuses and others use a combination of both These primaries and caucuses are staggered generally between January and June before the federal election with Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally holding the first presidential state caucus and primary respectively Like the general election presidential caucuses or primaries are indirect elections The major political parties officially vote for their presidential candidate at their respective nominating conventions usually all held in the summer before the federal election Depending on each state s law and state s political party rules when voters cast ballots for a candidate in a presidential caucus or primary they may be voting to award delegates bound to vote for a candidate at the presidential nominating conventions or they may simply be expressing an opinion that the state party is not bound to follow in selecting delegates to their respective national convention Unlike the general election voters in the U S territories can also elect delegates to the national conventions Furthermore each political party can determine how many delegates to allocate to each state and territory In 2012 for example the Democratic and Republican party conventions each used two different formulas to allocate delegates The Democrats based theirs on two main factors the proportion of votes each state gave to the Democratic candidate in the previous three presidential elections and the number of electoral votes each state had in the Electoral College In contrast the Republicans assigned to each state 10 delegates plus three delegates per congressional district Both parties then gave a fixed number of delegates to each territory and finally bonus delegates to states and territories that passed certain criteria Along with delegates chosen during primaries and caucuses state and U S territory delegations to both the Democratic and Republican party conventions also include unpledged delegates who have a vote For Republicans they consist of the three top party officials from each state and territory Democrats have a more expansive group of unpledged delegates called superdelegates who are party leaders and elected officials Each party s presidential candidate also chooses a vice presidential nominee to run with him or her on the same ticket and this choice is rubber stamped by the convention If no single candidate has secured a majority of delegates including both pledged and unpledged then a brokered convention results All pledged delegates are then released and can switch their allegiance to a different candidate Thereafter the nomination is decided through a process of alternating political horse trading and additional rounds of re votes The conventions have historically been held inside convention centers but since the late 20th century both the Democratic and Republican parties have favored sports arenas and domed stadiums to accommodate the increasing attendance Campaign strategy One major component of getting elected to any office is running a successful campaign There are however multiple ways to go about creating a successful campaign Several strategies are employed by candidates from both sides of the political spectrum Though the ideas may differ the goal of them all are the same to mobilize supporters and persuade undecided voters Sides et al pg 126 para 2 The goal of any campaign strategy is to create an effective path to victory for the intended candidate Joel Bradshaw is a political scientist who has four propositions necessary to develop such a strategy The first one being the separation of the eligible voters into three groups Undecided voters opponent voters and your voting base Second is the utilization of previous election results and survey data that can be used to identify who falls into the categories given in section one Third it is not essential nor possible to get the support of every voter in an election The campaign focus should be held mostly to keeping the base and using data to determine how to swing the undecided voters Fourth now that the campaign has identified the ideal base strategy it is now time to allocate resources properly to make sure your strategy is fulfilled to its extent Sides et al pg 126 para 4 and pg 127 para 1 Campaign tactics are also an essential part of any strategy and rely mostly on the campaign s resources and the way they use them to advertise Most candidates draw on a wide variety of tactics in the hopes to flood all forms of media though they do not always have the finances The most expensive form of advertising is running ads on broadcast television and is the best way to reach the largest number of potential voters This tactic does have its drawback however as it is the most expensive form of advertisement Even though it reaches the largest number of potential voters it is not the most effective way of swaying voters The most effective way is believed to be through personal contact as many political scientists agree It is confirmed that it is much more effective than contacting potential voters by email or by phone Sides et al pg 147 para 2 3 These are just some of the wide variety of tactics used in campaigns The popular vote on Election Day A Texas voter about to mark a selection for president on a ballot 2008 Election Day Under the United States Constitution the manner of choosing electors for the Electoral College is determined by each state s legislature Although each state designates electors by popular vote other methods are allowed For instance instead of having a popular vote a number of states used to select presidential electors by a direct vote of the state legislature itself However federal law does specify that all electors must be selected on the same day which is the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November i e a Tuesday no earlier than November 2 and no later than November 8 Today the states and the District of Columbia each conduct their own popular elections on Election Day to help determine their respective slate of electors Generally voters are required to vote on a ballot where they select the candidate of their choice The presidential ballot is a vote for the electors of a candidate citation needed meaning the voter is not voting for the candidate but endorsing a slate of electors pledged to vote for a specific presidential and vice presidential candidate Many voting ballots allow a voter to blanket vote for all candidates in a particular political party or to select individual candidates on a line by line voting system Which candidates appear on the voting ticket is determined through a legal process known as ballot access Usually the size of the candidate s political party and the results of the major nomination conventions determine who is pre listed on the presidential ballot Thus the presidential election ticket will not list every candidate running for president but only those who have secured a major party nomination or whose size of their political party warrants having been formally listed Laws allow other candidates pre listed on a ticket provided enough voters have endorsed that candidate usually through a signature list The final way to be elected for president is to have one s name written in at the time of election as a write in candidate This method is used for candidates who did not fulfill the legal requirements to be pre listed on the voting ticket However since a slate of electors must be associated with these candidates to vote for them and someone for vice president in the electoral college in the event they win the presidential election in a state most states require a slate of electors be designated before the election in order for a write in candidate to win essentially meaning that most write in votes do not count In any event a write in candidate has never won an election in a state for president of the United States Write in votes are also used by voters to express a distaste for the listed candidates by writing in an alternative candidate for president such as Mickey Mouse or comedian Stephen Colbert whose application was voted down by the South Carolina Democratic Party Because U S territories are not represented in the Electoral College U S citizens in those areas do not vote in the general election for president Guam has held straw polls for president since the 1980 election to draw attention to this fact Electoral college Electoral College map showing results of the 2020 U S presidential election Democrat Joe Biden won the popular vote in 25 states blue plus D C and Nebraska s 2nd congressional district to capture 306 electoral votes Republican Donald Trump won the popular vote in 25 states red and in Maine s 2nd congressional district to capture 232 electoral votes Most state laws establish a winner take all system wherein the ticket that wins a plurality of votes wins all of that state s allocated electoral votes and thus has their slate of electors chosen to vote in the Electoral College Maine and Nebraska do not use this method giving two electoral votes to the statewide winner and one electoral vote to the winner of each Congressional district instead Each state s winning slate of electors then meets at their respective state s capital on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for president and vice president Although Electoral College members can vote for anyone under the U S Constitution 32 states plus the District of Columbia have laws against faithless electors those electors who do not cast their electoral votes for the person for whom they have pledged to vote The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the case Chiafalo v Washington on July 6 2020 that the constitution does not prevent states from penalizing or replacing faithless electors An elector from Washington state casts their ballot following the 2024 presidential election In early January the total Electoral College vote count is opened by the sitting vice president acting in his or her capacity as president of the Senate and read aloud to a joint session of the incoming Congress which was elected at the same time as the president Members of Congress are free to object to any or all of a state s electoral vote count provided that the objection is presented in writing and is signed by at least one member of each house of Congress If such an objection is submitted both houses of Congress adjourn to their respective chambers to debate and vote on the objection The approval of both houses of Congress is required to invalidate those electoral votes in question If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote at least 270 the president is determined by the rules outlined by the Twelfth Amendment Specifically the selection of president would then be decided by a contingent election in a ballot of the House of Representatives For the purposes of electing the president each state has only one vote A ballot of the Senate is held to choose the vice president In this ballot each senator has one vote The House has chosen the victor of the presidential race only twice in 1800 and 1824 the Senate has chosen the victor of the vice presidential race only once in 1836 If the president is not chosen by Inauguration Day the vice president elect acts as president If neither are chosen by then Congress by law determines who shall act as president pursuant to the Twentieth Amendment Unless there are faithless electors disputes or other controversies the events in December and January mentioned above are largely a formality since the winner can be determined based on the state by state popular vote results Between the general election and Inauguration Day this apparent winner is referred to as the president elect unless it is a sitting president who has won re election Election calendar The typical periods of the presidential election process are as follows with the dates corresponding to the 2024 general election Late 2022 to early 2023 Candidates announce their intentions to run and if necessary file their Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission June 2023 to January 2024 Primary and caucus debates January to June 2024 Primaries and caucuses Late May to August 2024 Nominating conventions including those of the minor third parties September and October 2024 Presidential election debates November 5 2024 Election Day December 17 2024 Electors cast their electoral votes January 6 2025 Congress counts and certifies the electoral votes January 20 2025 Presidential inaugurationTrendsPrevious experience John Adams was the first of 26 presidents who have been lawyers Among the 45 persons who have served as president only Donald Trump had never held a position in either government or the military prior to taking office The only previous experience Zachary Taylor Ulysses S Grant and Dwight D Eisenhower had was in the military Herbert Hoover previously served as the Secretary of Commerce Everyone else served in elected public office before becoming president such as being vice president a member of Congress or a state or territorial governor Fifteen presidents also served as vice president Six of them John Adams 1796 Thomas Jefferson 1800 Martin Van Buren 1836 Richard Nixon 1968 George H W Bush 1988 and Joe Biden 2020 began their first term after winning an election The remaining nine began their first term as president according to the presidential line of succession after the intra term death or resignation of their predecessor Of these Theodore Roosevelt Calvin Coolidge Harry S Truman and Lyndon B Johnson were subsequently elected to a full term of their own while John Tyler Millard Fillmore Andrew Johnson Chester A Arthur and Gerald Ford were not Ford s accession to the presidency is unique in American history in that he became vice president through the process prescribed by the Twenty fifth Amendment rather than by winning an election thus making him the only U S president to not have been elected to either office Sixteen presidents had previously served in the U S Senate including four of the five who served between 1945 and 1974 However only three were incumbent senators at the time they were elected president Warren G Harding in 1920 John F Kennedy in 1960 and Barack Obama in 2008 Eighteen presidents had earlier served in the House of Representatives However only one was a sitting representative when elected to the presidency James A Garfield in 1880 Four of the last seven presidents Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan Bill Clinton and George W Bush have been governors of a state Geographically these presidents were from either very large states Reagan from California Bush from Texas or from a state south of the Mason Dixon line and east of Texas Carter from Georgia Clinton from Arkansas In all sixteen presidents have been former governors including seven who were incumbent governors at the time of their election to the presidency The most common job experience occupation or profession of U S presidents has been lawyer 26 presidents had served as attorneys Twenty two presidents were also in the military Eight presidents had served as Cabinet Secretaries with five of the six presidents who served between 1801 and 1841 having held the office of U S Secretary of State After leaving office one president William Howard Taft served as Chief Justice of the United States Two others later served in Congress John Quincy Adams in the House and Andrew Johnson in the Senate Technology and media source source source source source source source source track track track track track track track track track track Lyndon B Johnson s 1964 Daisy advertisement Advances in technology and media have also affected presidential campaigns The invention of radio and then television gave way to reliance upon national political advertisements such as Lyndon B Johnson s 1964 Daisy Ronald Reagan s 1984 Morning in America and George H W Bush s 1988 Revolving Door all of which became major factors In 1992 George H W Bush s promise of Read my lips no new taxes was extensively used in the commercials of Bill Clinton and Bush s other opponents with significant effect during the campaign Since the development of the internet in the mid 90s Internet activism has also become an invaluable component of presidential campaigns especially since 2000 The internet was first used in the 1996 presidential elections but primarily as a brochure for the candidate online It was only used by a few candidates and there is no evidence of any major effect on the outcomes of that election cycle In 2000 both candidates George W Bush and Al Gore created maintained and updated campaign websites But it was not until the 2004 presidential election cycle was the potential value of the internet seen By the summer of 2003 ten people competing in the 2004 presidential election had developed campaign websites Howard Dean s campaign website from that year was considered a model for all future campaign websites His website played a significant role in his overall campaign strategy It allowed his supporters to read about his campaign platform and provide feedback donate get involved with the campaign and connect with other supporters A Gallup poll from January 2004 revealed that 49 percent of Americans have used the internet to get information about candidates and 28 percent said they use the internet to get this information frequently Use of the Internet for grassroots fundraising by US presidential candidates such as Howard Dean Barack Obama Ron Paul and Bernie Sanders established it as an effective political tool In 2016 the use of social media was a key part of Donald Trump campaign Trump and his opinions were established as constantly trending by posting multiple times per day and his strong online influence was constantly reinforced Internet channels such as YouTube were used by candidates to share speeches and ads and to attack candidates by uploading videos of gaffes A study done by the Pew Internet amp American Life Project in conjunction with Princeton Survey Research Associates in November 2010 shows that 54 of adults in the United States used the internet to get information about the 2010 midterm elections and about specific candidates This represents 73 of adult internet users The study also showed that 22 percent of adult internet users used social networking sites or Twitter to get information about and discuss the elections and 26 percent of all adults used cell phones to learn about or participate in campaigns E campaigning as it has come to be called is subject to very little regulation On March 26 2006 the Federal Election Commission voted unanimously to not regulate political communication on the Internet including emails blogs and the creating of Web sites This decision made only paid political ads placed on websites subject to campaign finance limitations A comment was made about this decision by Roger Alan Stone of Advocacy Inc which explains this loophole in the context of a political campaign A wealthy individual could purchase all of the e mail addresses for registered voters in a congressional district produce an Internet video ad and e mail it along with a link to the campaign contribution page Not only would this activity not count against any contribution limits or independent expenditure requirements it would never even need to be reported A key part of the United States presidential campaigns is the use of media and framing Candidates are able to frame their opponents and current issues in ways to affect the way voters will see events and the other presidential candidates This is known as priming For example during the 2016 presidential election Donald Trump successfully influenced the way voters thought about Hillary Clinton by encouraging voters to think of Clinton as Crooked Hillary or a Nasty woman The media and Trump tended to focus on what was presented as her email scandal and when voters thought about her that is what came to mind Trump played into voters anti government interests while Clinton appealed to the future of the country for the better of future children Trump was unexpectedly successful at connecting to what a huge portion of Americans perceived as their interests It was not always Clinton s strong point but that may not have been her fault Americans vote based on whether they feel the country is in a time of gain or a time of loss Trump s campaign slogan Make America Great Again made Americans feel like the country was in a time of loss willing to take a risk on voting for a candidate without political experience Trump was convincing with his anti everything rhetoric and his message reached the electorate with the help of the media Over half of the media coverage on Trump was focused on where he stood in the race while only 12 focused on issues stances and political beliefs including problematic comments Criticism2012 Republican primaries and caucuses calendar January 2012 4 February 2012 7 March 2012 23 April 2012 9 May 2012 7 June 2012 6 2012 swing states where the margin of victory was eight percentage points or fewer States won by Democrat Barack Obama by 4 8 percentage points States won by Democrat Barack Obama by 0 4 percentage points States won by Republican Mitt Romney by 0 4 percentage points States won by Republican Mitt Romney by 4 8 percentage points The presidential election process is controversial with critics arguing that it is inherently undemocratic and discourages voter participation and turnout in many areas of the country Because of the staggered nature of the primary season voters in Iowa New Hampshire and other small states which traditionally hold their primaries and caucuses first in January usually have a major impact on the races Campaign activity media attention and voter participation are usually higher in these states as the candidates attempt to build momentum and generate a bandwagon effect in these early primaries Conversely voters in California and other large states which traditionally hold their primaries last in June usually end up having no say in who the presidential candidates will be The races are usually over by then and thus the campaigns the media and voters have little incentive to participate in these late primaries As a result more states vie for earlier primaries to claim a greater influence in the process However compressing the primary calendar in this way limits the ability of lesser known candidates to effectively corral resources and raise their visibility among voters especially when competing with better known candidates who have more financial resources and the institutional backing of their party s establishment Primary and caucus reform proposals include a National Primary held on a single day or the Interregional Primary Plan where states would be grouped into six regions and each region would rotate every election on who would hold their primaries first With the primary races usually over before June the political conventions have mostly become scripted ceremonial affairs As the drama has left the conventions and complaints grown that they were scripted and dull pep rallies public interest and viewership has fallen off After having offered gavel to gavel coverage of the major party conventions in the mid 20th century the Big Three television networks now devote only approximately three hours of coverage one hour per night Critics also argue that the Electoral College is archaic and inherently undemocratic With all states except Maine and Nebraska using a winner takes all system most of the states seats are allocated ina blocks to either the Democratic or the Republican candidate and in all but a few states the citizens predominantly and perennially vote for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party and even in Maine and Nebraska most of the state seats have historically gone to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party respectively This encourages presidential candidates to focus exponentially more time money and energy campaigning in a few so called swing states states in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support Such swing states Arizona Georgia Michigan Nevada North Carolina Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are inundated with campaign visits saturation television advertising get out the vote efforts by party organizers and debates Meanwhile candidates and political parties have no incentive to mount nationwide campaign efforts or work to increase voter turnout in predominantly Democratic Party safe states like California Illinois or New York or predominantly Republican Party safe states like Wyoming Alabama or Utah In practice the winner takes all system also both reinforces the country s two party system and decreases the importance of third and minor political parties Furthermore a candidate can win the electoral vote without securing the greatest amount of the national popular vote such as during the 1824 1876 1888 2000 and 2016 elections It would even be possible in theory to secure the necessary 270 electoral votes from only the twelve most populous states and ignore the rest of the country Proposed changes to the election process In 1844 Representative Samuel F Vinton of Ohio proposed an amendment to the constitution that would replace the electoral college system with a lot system The Joint Resolution called for each state to elect by a simple majority a presidential candidate of said state Each state would notify Congress of the presidential election results Congress would then inscribe the name of every state on uniform balls equal to the number of said state s members of Congress and deposit into a box In a joint session of Congress a ball would be drawn and the elected candidate of the state of which is written on the drawn ball would be named president A second ball would immediately be drawn after and that state s candidate would be named vice president The resolution did not pass the House Representative Vinton proposed an identical amendment in 1846 Again it was unsuccessful The driving force behind the introduction of the resolution is unclear as there is no recorded debate for either proposal The Every Vote Counts Amendment another proposed constitutional amendment would replace the Electoral College with a direct popular vote which proponents argue would increase turnout and participation One proposal that would not require Congressional authorization is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact an interstate compact whereby individual participating states would agree to allocate their electors based on the winner of the national popular vote instead of their respective statewide results Another proposal is for every state to adopt the District system used by Maine and Nebraska give two electoral votes to the statewide winner and one electoral vote to the winner of each Congressional district The Proportional Plan often compared to the District Plan would distribute electoral votes in each state in proportion to the popular vote increasing the number of electors allocated to third parties The Automatic Plan would replace the Electors with an automatic tallying of votes to eliminate the possibility of a faithless elector affecting the outcome of the election The House Plan is another proposed constitutional amendment to allocate electors based on the House apportionment alone to lessen small state advantage Electoral college resultsThis is a table of electoral college results Included are candidates who received at least one electoral vote or at least five percent of the popular vote Faithless electors and unpledged electors are denoted by a pink background Year Party Presidential candidate Vice presidential candidate Popular vote Electoral votes Notes1788 Independent George Washington None 43 782 100 0 69 138Federalist John Adams N A N A 34 138John Jay 9 138Robert H Harrison 6 138John Rutledge 6 138John Hancock 4 138Anti Administration George Clinton 3 138Federalist Samuel Huntington 2 138John Milton 2 138James Armstrong 1 138Benjamin Lincoln 1 138Anti Administration Edward Telfair 1 1381792 Independent George Washington 28 579 100 0 132 264Federalist John Adams N A N A 77 264Democratic Republican George Clinton 50 264Thomas Jefferson 4 264Aaron Burr 1 2641796 Federalist John Adams 35 726 53 4 71 276Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson 31 115 46 6 68 276Federalist Thomas Pinckney N A N A 59 276Democratic Republican Aaron Burr 30 276Samuel Adams 15 276Federalist Oliver Ellsworth 11 276Democratic Republican George Clinton 7 276Federalist John Jay 5 276James Iredell 3 276Independent George Washington 2 276Democratic Republican John Henry 2 276Federalist Samuel Johnston 2 276Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 1 2761800 Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson Aaron Burr 41 330 61 4 73 276Federalist John Adams Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 25 952 38 6 64 276John Jay 1 2761804 Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson George Clinton 104 110 72 8 162 176Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Rufus King 38 919 27 2 14 1761808 Democratic Republican James Madison George Clinton 124 732 64 7 113 176John Langdon 9 176Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Rufus King 62 431 32 4 47 176Democratic Republican George Clinton James Madison N A N A 3 176James Monroe 3 1761812 Democratic Republican James Madison Elbridge Gerry 140 431 50 4 128 217Democratic Republican Federalist DeWitt Clinton Jared Ingersoll 132 781 47 6 86 217Elbridge Gerry 3 2171816 Democratic Republican James Monroe Daniel D Tompkins 76 592 68 2 183 217Federalist Rufus King John Eager Howard 34 740 30 9 22 217James Ross 5 217John Marshall 4 217Robert Goodloe Harper 3 2171820 Democratic Republican James Monroe Daniel D Tompkins 87 343 80 6 218 232Richard Stockton F 8 232Daniel Rodney F 4 232Robert Goodloe Harper F 1 232John Quincy Adams Richard Rush F N A N A 1 2321824 Democratic Republican Adams faction John Quincy Adams John C Calhoun 113 122 30 9 74 261Andrew Jackson 9 261N A 1 261Democratic Republican Jackson faction Andrew Jackson John C Calhoun 151 271 41 4 99 261Democratic Republican Crawford faction William H Crawford Nathaniel Macon 40 856 11 2 24 261Martin Van Buren 9 261John C Calhoun 2 261Henry Clay 2 261Nathan Sanford 2 261Andrew Jackson 1 261Democratic Republican Clay faction Henry Clay Nathan Sanford 47 531 13 0 28 261John C Calhoun 7 261Andrew Jackson 3 2611828 Democratic Andrew Jackson John C Calhoun 642 553 56 0 171 261William Smith 7 261National Republican John Quincy Adams Richard Rush 500 897 43 6 83 2611832 Democratic Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren 701 780 54 2 189 286William Wilkins 30 286National Republican Henry Clay John Sergeant 484 205 37 4 49 286Nullifier John Floyd Henry Lee N A N A 11 286Anti Masonic William Wirt Amos Ellmaker 100 715 7 8 7 2861836 Democratic Martin Van Buren Richard Mentor Johnson 763 291 50 8 147 294William Smith 23 294Whig William Henry Harrison Francis Granger 549 907 36 6 63 294John Tyler 10 294Hugh L White John Tyler 146 107 9 7 26 294Daniel Webster Francis Granger 41 201 2 7 14 294Willie Person Mangum John Tyler N A N A 11 2941840 Whig William Henry Harrison John Tyler 1 275 390 52 9 234 294Democratic Martin Van Buren Richard Mentor Johnson 1 128 854 46 8 48 294Littleton W Tazewell 11 294James K Polk 1 2941844 Democratic James K Polk George M Dallas 1 339 494 49 5 170 275Whig Henry Clay Theodore Frelinghuysen 1 300 004 48 1 105 2751848 Whig Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore 1 361 393 47 3 163 290Democratic Lewis Cass William Orlando Butler 1 223 460 42 5 127 2901852 Democratic Franklin Pierce William R King 1 607 510 50 8 254 296Whig Winfield Scott William Alexander Graham 1 386 942 43 9 42 2961856 Democratic James Buchanan John C Breckinridge 1 836 072 45 3 174 296Republican John C Fremont William L Dayton 1 342 345 33 1 114 296American Millard Fillmore Andrew Jackson Donelson 873 053 21 6 8 2961860 Republican Abraham Lincoln Hannibal Hamlin 1 865 908 39 8 180 303Democratic Southern John C Breckinridge Joseph Lane 848 019 18 1 72 303Constitutional Union John Bell Edward Everett 590 901 12 6 39 303Democratic Northern Stephen A Douglas Herschel V Johnson 1 380 202 29 5 12 3031864 National Union Abraham Lincoln R Andrew Johnson D 2 218 388 55 0 212 233Democratic George B McClellan George H Pendleton 1 812 807 45 0 21 2331868 Republican Ulysses S Grant Schuyler Colfax 3 013 650 52 7 214 294Democratic Horatio Seymour Francis Preston Blair Jr 2 708 744 47 3 80 2941872 Republican Ulysses S Grant Henry Wilson 3 598 235 55 6 286 352Democratic Thomas A Hendricks Benjamin Gratz Brown LR 2 834 761 43 8 41 or 42 352William S Groesbeck 0 or 1 352George Washington Julian LR 0 or 1 352John M Palmer LR 0 or 1 352Liberal Republican Benjamin Gratz Brown Alfred H Colquitt D 5 352George Washington Julian 4 or 5 352Thomas E Bramlette D 3 352John M Palmer 2 or 3 352Nathaniel P Banks 1 352Willis Benson Machen D 1 352William S Groesbeck D 0 or 1 352Horace Greeley Benjamin Gratz Brown 3 352Democratic Charles J Jenkins Benjamin Gratz Brown 2 352Liberal Republican David Davis Benjamin Gratz Brown 0 or 1 352William S Groesbeck D 0 or 1 352George Washington Julian 0 or 1 352John M Palmer 0 or 1 3521876 Republican Rutherford B Hayes William A Wheeler 4 034 142 47 9 185 369Democratic Samuel J Tilden Thomas A Hendricks 4 286 808 50 9 184 3691880 Republican James A Garfield Chester A Arthur 4 446 158 48 3 214 369Democratic Winfield Scott Hancock William Hayden English 4 444 260 48 3 155 3691884 Democratic Grover Cleveland Thomas A Hendricks 4 914 482 48 9 219 401Republican James G Blaine John A Logan 4 856 903 48 3 182 4011888 Republican Benjamin Harrison Levi P Morton 5 443 892 47 8 233 401Democratic Grover Cleveland Allen G Thurman 5 534 488 48 6 168 4011892 Democratic Grover Cleveland Adlai Stevenson I 5 553 898 46 0 277 444Republican Benjamin Harrison Whitelaw Reid 5 190 819 43 0 145 444Populist James B Weaver James G Field 1 026 595 8 5 22 4441896 Republican William McKinley Garret Hobart 7 111 607 51 0 271 447Democratic Populist William Jennings Bryan Arthur Sewall D 6 509 052 46 7 149 447Thomas E Watson Pop 27 4471900 Republican William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt 7 228 864 51 6 292 447Democratic William Jennings Bryan Adlai Stevenson I 6 370 932 45 5 155 4471904 Republican Theodore Roosevelt Charles W Fairbanks 7 630 457 56 4 336 476Democratic Alton B Parker Henry G Davis 5 083 880 37 6 140 4761908 Republican William Howard Taft James S Sherman 7 678 335 51 6 321 483Democratic William Jennings Bryan John W Kern 6 408 979 43 0 162 4831912 Democratic Woodrow Wilson Thomas R Marshall 6 296 284 41 8 435 531Progressive Theodore Roosevelt Hiram Johnson 4 122 721 27 4 88 531Republican William Howard Taft Nicholas Murray Butler 3 486 242 23 2 8 5311916 Democratic Woodrow Wilson Thomas R Marshall 9 126 868 49 2 277 531Republican Charles Evans Hughes Charles W Fairbanks 8 548 728 46 1 254 5311920 Republican Warren G Harding Calvin Coolidge 16 144 093 60 3 404 531Democratic James M Cox Franklin D Roosevelt 9 139 661 34 2 127 5311924 Republican Calvin Coolidge Charles G Dawes 15 723 789 54 0 382 531Democratic John W Davis Charles W Bryan 8 386 242 28 8 136 531Progressive Robert M La Follette Burton K Wheeler 4 831 706 16 6 13 5311928 Republican Herbert Hoover Charles Curtis 21 427 123 58 2 444 531Democratic Al Smith Joseph Taylor Robinson 15 015 464 40 8 87 5311932 Democratic Franklin D Roosevelt John Nance Garner 22 821 277 57 4 472 531Republican Herbert Hoover Charles Curtis 15 761 254 39 7 59 5311936 Democratic Franklin D Roosevelt John Nance Garner 27 752 648 60 8 523 531Republican Alf Landon Frank Knox 16 681 862 36 5 8 5311940 Democratic Franklin D Roosevelt Henry A Wallace 27 313 945 54 7 449 531Republican Wendell Willkie Charles L McNary 22 347 744 44 8 82 5311944 Democratic Franklin D Roosevelt Harry S Truman 25 612 916 53 4 432 531Republican Thomas E Dewey John W Bricker 22 017 929 45 9 99 5311948 Democratic Harry S Truman Alben W Barkley 24 179 347 49 6 303 531Republican Thomas E Dewey Earl Warren 21 991 292 45 1 189 531Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond Fielding L Wright 1 175 930 2 4 39 5311952 Republican Dwight D Eisenhower Richard Nixon 34 075 529 55 2 442 531Democratic Adlai Stevenson II John Sparkman 27 375 090 44 3 89 5311956 Republican Dwight D Eisenhower Richard Nixon 35 579 180 57 4 457 531Democratic Adlai Stevenson II Estes Kefauver 26 028 028 42 0 73 531Walter Burgwyn Jones Herman Talmadge N A N A 1 5311960 Democratic John F Kennedy Lyndon B Johnson 34 220 984 49 7 303 537Republican Richard Nixon Henry Cabot Lodge Jr 34 108 157 49 6 219 537Southern Democratic Harry F Byrd Strom Thurmond 610 409 0 4 14 537Barry Goldwater R 1 5371964 Democratic Lyndon B Johnson Hubert Humphrey 43 127 041 61 0 486 538Republican Barry Goldwater William E Miller 27 175 754 38 5 52 5381968 Republican Richard Nixon Spiro Agnew 31 783 783 43 4 301 538Democratic Hubert Humphrey Edmund Muskie 31 271 839 42 7 191 538American Independent George Wallace Curtis LeMay 9 901 118 13 5 46 5381972 Republican Richard Nixon Spiro Agnew 47 168 710 60 7 520 538Democratic George McGovern Sargent Shriver 29 173 222 37 5 17 538Libertarian John Hospers Tonie Nathan 3 674 lt 0 01 1 5381976 Democratic Jimmy Carter Walter Mondale 40 831 881 50 1 297 538Republican Gerald Ford Bob Dole 39 148 634 48 0 240 538Ronald Reagan N A N A 1 5381980 Republican Ronald Reagan George H W Bush 43 903 230 50 7 489 538Democratic Jimmy Carter Walter Mondale 35 480 115 41 0 49 5381984 Republican Ronald Reagan George H W Bush 54 455 472 58 8 525 538Democratic Walter Mondale Geraldine Ferraro 37 577 352 40 6 13 5381988 Republican George H W Bush Dan Quayle 48 886 597 53 4 426 538Democratic Michael Dukakis Lloyd Bentsen 41 809 476 45 6 111 538Lloyd Bentsen Michael Dukakis N A N A 1 5381992 Democratic Bill Clinton Al Gore 44 909 806 43 0 370 538Republican George H W Bush Dan Quayle 39 104 550 37 4 168 5381996 Democratic Bill Clinton Al Gore 47 401 185 49 2 379 538Republican Bob Dole Jack Kemp 39 197 469 40 7 159 5382000 Republican George W Bush Dick Cheney 50 456 002 47 9 271 538Democratic Al Gore Joe Lieberman 50 999 897 48 4 266 5382004 Republican George W Bush Dick Cheney 62 040 610 50 7 286 538Democratic John Kerry John Edwards 59 028 444 48 3 251 538John Edwards 5 lt 0 01 1 5382008 Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 69 498 516 52 9 365 538Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 59 948 323 45 7 173 5382012 Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 65 915 795 51 1 332 538Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 60 933 504 47 2 206 5382016 Republican Donald Trump Mike Pence 62 984 828 46 1 304 538Ron Paul L 124 lt 0 01 1 538Democratic Hillary Clinton Tim Kaine 65 853 514 48 2 227 538Republican cast by Democratic electors Colin Powell Susan Collins 25 lt 0 01 1 538Maria Cantwell D 1 538Elizabeth Warren D 1 538Republican John Kasich Carly Fiorina 2 684 lt 0 01 1 538Democratic Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren 108 776 0 08 1 538Faith Spotted Eagle Winona LaDuke G N A N A 1 5382020 Democratic Joe Biden Kamala Harris 81 283 501 51 3 306 538Republican Donald Trump Mike Pence 74 223 975 46 9 232 5382024 Republican Donald Trump JD Vance 77 302 169 49 8 312 538Democratic Kamala Harris Tim Walz 75 015 834 48 3 226 538Green Jill Stein 861 141 0 5 0 538American Independent Robert F Kennedy Jr 756 377 0 5 0 538Libertarian Chase Oliver 650 142 0 4 0 538Other Other Candidates 833 975 0 5 0 538Maps of results Electoral College 1788 1789 Election 1792 Election 1796 Election 1800 Election 1804 Election 1808 Election 1812 Election 1816 Election 1820 Election 1824 Election 1828 Election 1832 Election 1836 Election 1840 Election 1844 Election 1848 Election 1852 Election 1856 Election 1860 Election 1864 Election 1868 Election 1872 Election 1876 Election 1880 Election 1884 Election 1888 Election 1892 Election 1896 Election 1900 Election 1904 Election 1908 Election 1912 Election 1916 Election 1920 Election 1924 Election 1928 Election 1932 Election 1936 Election 1940 Election 1944 Election 1948 Election 1952 Election 1956 Election 1960 Election 1964 Election 1968 Election 1972 Election 1976 Election 1980 Election 1984 Election 1988 Election 1992 Election 1996 Election 2000 Election 2004 Election 2008 Election 2012 Election 2016 Election 2020 Election 2024 ElectionPopular vote resultsHistorically presidents seeking re election with a job approval rating of 50 percent or higher among American voters have easily won a second term while those with an approval rating of less than 50 percent have lost the election Popular vote percentage1788 89 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Independent George Washington 43 782 100 Federalist John Adams vice president n a n aFederalist John Jay n a n aFederalist Robert H Harrison n a n aFederalist John Rutledge n a n aFederalist John Hancock n a n aAnti Administration George Clinton n a n aFederalist Samuel Huntington n a n aFederalist John Milton n a n aFederalist James Armstrong n a n aFederalist Benjamin Lincoln n a n aAnti Administration Edward Telfair n a n a1792 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Independent George Washington 28 579 100 Federalist John Adams vice president n a n aDemocratic Republican George Clinton n a n aDemocratic Republican Thomas Jefferson n a n aDemocratic Republican Aaron Burr n a n a1796 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Federalist John Adams 35 726 53 4 Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson vice president 31 115 46 5 Democratic Republican Aaron Burr n a n aDemocratic Republican Samuel Adams n a n aFederalist Oliver Ellsworth n a n aDemocratic Republican George Clinton n a n aFederalist John Jay n a n aFederalist James Iredell n a n aIndependent George Washington n a n aDemocratic Republican John Henry n a n aFederalist Samuel Johnston n a n aFederalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney n a n a1800 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson Aaron Burr 41 330 61 4 Federalist John Adams Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 25 952 38 6 Federalist John Adams John Jay 0 0 House vote for president 1801 CT DE GA KY MD MA NH NJ NY NC PA RI SC TN VT VA0 7 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 4 0 4 3 11 0 4 3 2 6 4 6 4 9 4 0 2 0 0 4 1 0 1 0 1 14 5State delegations won by Jefferson are color coded in green and those won by Burr in red Vote results listed in that order with abstentions at end 1804 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson George Clinton 104 110 72 8 Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Rufus King 38 919 27 2 1808 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Republican James Madison George Clinton 124 732 64 7 Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Rufus King 62 431 32 4 Democratic Republican James Monroe 4 848 2 5 Democratic Republican George Clinton James Madison and James Monroe 0 0 None Unpledged electors 680 0 4 1812 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Republican James Madison Elbridge Gerry 140 431 50 4 Democratic Republican DeWitt Clinton Jared Ingersoll and Elbridge Gerry 132 781 47 6 Federalist Rufus King 5 574 2 0 1816 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Republican James Monroe Daniel D Tompkins 76 592 68 2 Federalist Rufus King Multiple 34 740 30 9 None Unpledged electors 1 038 0 9 1820 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Republican James Monroe Daniel D Tompkins 87 343 80 6 Federalist No candidate 17 465 16 12 Democratic Republican John Quincy Adams Richard Rush Federalist 2 215 2 04 Democratic Republican DeWitt Clinton 1 893 1 75 Independent Unpledged electors 1 658 1 53 1824 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Republican John Quincy Adams John C Calhoun and Andrew Jackson 113 122 30 9 Democratic Republican Andrew Jackson John C Calhoun 151 271 41 4 Democratic Republican William H Crawford Multiple 40 856 11 2 Democratic Republican Henry Clay Multiple 47 531 13 None Unpledged electors 6 616 1 81 This election was in many ways unique in American history several different factions of the Democratic Republican Party were named after the last names of the candidates in this race and nominated their own candidates As no candidate received a majority of electoral votes the House of Representatives chose Adams to be president House vote for president 1824AL CT DE GA IL IN KY LA ME MD MA MS MO NH NJ NY NC OH PN RI SC TN VT VI0 3 0 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 1 0 0 0 3 0 8 4 0 2 1 0 7 0 0 5 3 1 12 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 6 0 0 1 5 0 18 2 14 1 1 10 10 2 2 1 25 0 2 0 0 0 9 0 0 9 0 5 0 0 1 1 19State delegations that Adams won are colored in green blue for Jackson and orange for Crawford Vote results listed in that order 1828 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Andrew Jackson John C Calhoun 642 553 56 0 National Republican John Quincy Adams Richard Rush 500 897 43 6 1832 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren 701 780 54 2 National Republican Henry Clay John Sergeant 484 205 37 4 Nullifier John Floyd Henry Lee 0 0 Anti Masonic William Wirt Amos Ellmaker 100 715 7 8 1836 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Martin Van Buren Richard Mentor Johnson 764 176 56 0 Whig William Henry Harrison Francis Granger 549 907 36 6 Whig Hugh Lawson White John Tyler 146 107 9 7 Whig Daniel Webster Francis Granger 41 201 2 7 Whig Willie Person Mangum John Tyler 0 0 1840 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Whig William Henry Harrison John Tyler 1 275 390 52 9 Democratic Martin Van Buren Richard Mentor Johnson 1 128 854 46 8 Liberty James G Birney Thomas Earle 7 453 0 31 1844 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic James K Polk George M Dallas 1 339 494 49 5 Whig Henry Clay Theodore Frelinghuysen 1 300 004 48 1 Liberty James G Birney Thomas Morris 62 103 2 30 1848 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Whig Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore 1 361 393 47 3 Democratic Lewis Cass William Orlando Butler 1 223 460 42 5 Free Soil Martin Van Buren Charles Francis Adams Sr 291 501 10 1 Liberty Gerrit Smith Charles C Foote 2 545 0 09 1852 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Franklin Pierce William R King 1 607 510 50 8 Whig Winfield Scott William Alexander Graham 1 386 942 43 9 Free Soil John P Hale George Washington Julian 155 210 4 9 Union Daniel Webster Charles J Jenkins 6 994 0 22 Know Nothing Jacob Broom Reynell Coates 2 566 0 08 Southern Rights George Troup John A Quitman 2 331 0 07 1856 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic James Buchanan John C Breckinridge 1 836 072 45 3 Republican John C Fremont William L Dayton 1 342 345 33 1 Know Nothing Millard Fillmore Andrew Jackson Donelson 873 053 21 6 1860 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Abraham Lincoln Hannibal Hamlin 1 865 908 39 8 Southern Democratic John C Breckinridge Joseph Lane 848 019 18 1 Constitutional Union John Bell Edward Everett 590 901 12 6 Democratic Stephen A Douglas Herschel V Johnson 1 380 202 29 5 1864 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes National Union Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson 2 218 388 55 0 Democratic George B McClellan George H Pendleton 1 812 807 45 0 1868 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Ulysses S Grant Schuyler Colfax 3 013 650 52 7 Democratic Horatio Seymour Francis Preston Blair Jr 2 708 744 47 3 1872 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Ulysses S Grant Henry Wilson 3 598 235 55 6 Liberal Republican Horace Greeley Benjamin Gratz Brown 2 834 761 43 8 Straight Out Democrats Charles O Conor John Quincy Adams II 18 602 0 3 Prohibition James Black John Russell 5 607 0 1 1876 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Rutherford B Hayes William A Wheeler 4 034 142 47 9 Democratic Samuel J Tilden Thomas A Hendricks 4 286 808 50 9 Greenback Peter Cooper Samuel Fenton Cary 83 726 0 99 Prohibition Green Clay Smith Gideon T Stewart 6 945 0 08 National James Walker Donald Kirkpatrick 463 0 01 1880 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican James A Garfield Chester A Arthur 4 446 158 48 3 Democratic Winfield Scott Hancock William Hayden English 4 444 260 48 3 Greenback James B Weaver Barzillai J Chambers 308 649 3 35 Prohibition Neal Dow Henry Adams Thompson 10 364 0 11 Anti Masonic John W Phelps Samuel C Pomeroy 1 045 0 01 1884 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Grover Cleveland Thomas A Hendricks 4 914 482 48 9 Republican James G Blaine John A Logan 4 856 903 48 3 Prohibition John St John William Daniel 147 482 1 50 Anti Monopoly Benjamin Butler Absolom M West 134 294 1 33 National Equal Rights Party Belva Ann Lockwood Marietta Stow 4 194 0 04 1888 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Benjamin Harrison Levi P Morton 5 443 892 47 8 Democratic Grover Cleveland Allen G Thurman 5 534 488 48 6 Prohibition Clinton B Fisk John A Brooks 249 819 2 20 Labor Alson Streeter Charles E Cunningham 146 602 1 31 1892 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Grover Cleveland Adlai Stevenson I 5 553 898 46 Republican Benjamin Harrison Whitelaw Reid 5 190 819 43 Populist James B Weaver James G Field 1 026 595 8 5 Prohibition John Bidwell James Cranfill 270 879 2 24 Socialist Labor Simon Wing Charles Matchett 21 173 0 18 1896 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican William McKinley Garret Hobart 7 111 607 51 Democratic William Jennings Bryan Arthur Sewall 6 509 052 46 7 National Democratic John M Palmer Simon Bolivar Buckner 134 645 0 97 Prohibition Joshua Levering Hale Johnson 131 312 0 94 Socialist Labor Charles H Matchett Matthew Maguire 36 373 0 26 National Prohibition Party Charles Eugene Bentley James H Southgate 13 968 0 10 1900 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt 7 228 864 51 6 Democratic William Jennings Bryan Adlai Stevenson I 6 370 932 45 5 Prohibition John G Woolley Henry B Metcalf 210 864 1 51 Social Democratic Eugene V Debs Job Harriman 87 945 0 63 Populist Wharton Barker Ignatius L Donnelly 50 989 0 36 Socialist Labor Joseph F Malloney Valentine Remmel 40 943 0 29 1904 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Theodore Roosevelt Charles W Fairbanks 7 630 457 56 4 Democratic Alton B Parker Henry G Davis 5 083 880 37 6 Socialist Eugene V Debs Benjamin Hanford 402 810 2 98 Prohibition Silas C Swallow George Washington Carroll 259 102 1 92 Populist Thomas E Watson Thomas Tibbles 114 070 0 84 Socialist Labor Charles Hunter Corregan William Wesley Cox 33 454 0 25 1908 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican William Howard Taft James S Sherman 7 678 335 51 6 Democratic William Jennings Bryan John W Kern 6 408 979 43 Socialist Eugene V Debs Benjamin Hanford 420 852 2 83 Prohibition Eugene W Chafin Aaron S Watkins 254 087 1 71 Independence Thomas L Hisgen John Temple Graves 82 574 0 55 Populist Thomas E Watson Samuel Williams 28 862 0 19 Socialist Labor August Gillhaus Donald L Munro 14 031 0 09 1912 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Woodrow Wilson Thomas R Marshall 6 296 284 41 8 Progressive Theodore Roosevelt Hiram Johnson 4 122 721 27 Republican William Howard Taft Nicholas Murray Butler 3 486 242 23 2 Socialist Eugene V Debs Emil Seidel 901 551 6 Prohibition Eugene W Chafin Aaron S Watkins 208 156 1 38 Socialist Labor Arthur E Reimer August Gillhaus 29 324 0 19 1916 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Woodrow Wilson Thomas R Marshall 9 126 868 49 2 Republican Charles Evans Hughes Charles W Fairbanks 8 548 728 46 1 Socialist Allan L Benson George Ross Kirkpatrick 590 524 3 19 Prohibition Frank Hanly Ira Landrith 221 302 1 19 Progressive Party United States 1912 1920 None John M Parker 33 406 0 18 Socialist Labor Arthur E Reimer Caleb Harrison 15 295 0 08 1920 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Warren G Harding Calvin Coolidge 16 114 093 60 3 Democratic James M Cox Franklin D Roosevelt 9 139 661 34 2 Socialist Eugene V Debs Seymour Stedman 914 191 3 41 Farmer Labor Parley P Christensen Max S Hayes 265 395 0 99 Prohibition Aaron S Watkins D Leigh Colvin 188 709 0 70 American Party Texas James E Ferguson William J Hough 47 968 0 18 Socialist Labor William Wesley Cox August Gillhaus 31 084 0 12 Single Tax 5 750 0 02 1924 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Calvin Coolidge Charles G Dawes 15 723 789 54 Democratic John W Davis Charles W Bryan 8 386 242 28 8 Progressive Robert M La Follette Burton K Wheeler 4 831 706 16 6 Prohibition Herman P Faris Marie C Brehm 55 951 0 19 Communist William Z Foster Benjamin Gitlow 38 669 0 13 Socialist Labor Frank T Johns Verne L Reynolds 28 633 0 10 American Gilbert Nations Charles Hiram Randall 24 325 0 08 1928 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Herbert Hoover Charles Curtis 21 427 123 58 2 Democratic Al Smith Joseph Taylor Robinson 15 015 464 40 8 Socialist Norman Thomas James H Maurer 267 478 0 73 Communist William Z Foster Benjamin Gitlow 48 551 0 13 Socialist Labor Verne L Reynolds Jeremiah D Crowley 21 590 0 06 Prohibition William F Varney James A Edgerton 20 095 0 05 Farmer Labor 6 390 0 02 1932 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Franklin D Roosevelt John Nance Garner 22 821 277 57 4 Republican Herbert Hoover Charles Curtis 15 761 254 39 7 Socialist Norman Thomas James H Maurer 884 885 2 23 Communist William Z Foster James W Ford 103 307 0 26 Prohibition William David Upshaw Frank S Regan 81 905 0 21 Liberty William Hope Harvey d 53 425 0 13 Socialist Labor Verne L Reynolds John W Aiken 34 038 0 09 Farmer Labor Jacob S Coxey Sr 7 431 0 02 1936 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Franklin D Roosevelt John Nance Garner 27 752 648 60 8 Republican Alf Landon Frank Knox 16 681 862 36 5 Union William Lemke Thomas C O Brien 892 378 1 95 Socialist Norman Thomas George A Nelson 187 910 0 41 Communist Earl Browder James W Ford 79 315 0 17 Prohibition D Leigh Colvin Claude A Watson 37 646 0 08 Socialist Labor John W Aiken d 12 799 0 03 1940 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Franklin D Roosevelt Henry A Wallace 27 313 945 54 7 Republican Wendell Willkie Charles L McNary 22 347 744 44 8 Socialist Norman Thomas Maynard C Krueger 116 599 0 23 Prohibition Roger Babson d 57 903 0 12 Communist Earl Browder James W Ford 48 557 0 10 Socialist Labor John W Aiken d 14 883 0 03 1944 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Franklin D Roosevelt Harry S Truman 25 612 916 53 4 Republican Thomas E Dewey John W Bricker 22 017 929 45 9 Texas Regulars None 143 238 0 30 Socialist Norman Thomas Darlington Hoopes 79 017 0 16 Prohibition Claude A Watson Andrew N Johnson 74 758 0 16 Socialist Labor Edward A Teichert 45 188 0 09 1948 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Democratic Harry S Truman Alben W Barkley 24 179 347 49 6 Republican Thomas E Dewey Earl Warren 21 991 292 45 1 Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond Fielding L Wright 1 175 930 2 4 Progressive Henry A Wallace Glen H Taylor 1 157 328 2 4 Socialist Norman Thomas Tucker P Smith 139 569 0 29 Prohibition Claude A Watson Dale Learn 103 708 0 21 Socialist Labor Edward A Teichert Stephen Emery 29 244 0 06 Socialist Workers Farrell Dobbs Grace Carlson 13 613 0 03 1952 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Dwight D Eisenhower Richard Nixon 34 075 529 55 2 Democratic Adlai Stevenson II John Sparkman 27 375 090 44 3 Progressive Vincent Hallinan Charlotta Bass 140 746 0 23 Prohibition Stuart Hamblen Enoch A Holtwick 73 412 0 12 Socialist Labor Eric Hass Stephen Emery 30 406 0 05 Socialist Darlington Hoopes Samuel H Friedman 20 203 0 03 Constitution Party United States 1952 Douglas MacArthur Harry F Byrd 17 205 0 03 Socialist Workers Farrell Dobbs Myra Tanner Weiss 10 312 0 02 1956 United States presidential election Party Candidate Votes Republican Dwight D Eisenhower Richard Nixon 35 579 180 57 4 Democratic Adlai Stevenson II Estes Kefauver 26 028 028 42 Dixiecrat T Coleman Andrews Thomas H Werdel 305 274 0 5 Independent Unpledged Electors 196 318 0 32 Socialist Labor Eric Hass Georgia Cozzini 44 450 0 07 Prohibition Enoch A Holtwick
