Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Electoral College
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images, Videos & Interactives
Alabama certificate showing the state's electors' votes
How does the Electoral College work in the U.S.?
How many Electoral College votes does each U.S. state have?
How does the Electoral College work in U.S. elections?
Guide to U.S. presidential election results American presidential election, 1789 American presidential election, 2000 United States: 2000 presidential election American presidential election, 2004 results of the American presidential election, 2008
For Students
electoral college summary
Quizzes
A 1912 poster shows Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and William Howard Taft, all working at desks, superimposed on a map of the United States. The three were candidates in the 1912 election.
U.S. Presidential Elections Quiz
Read Next
United States elections portal page linking to each election interactive
A History of U.S. Presidential Elections in Maps
Artwork for themes for Pro-Con articles.
Pro and Con: Electoral College
Andrew Jackson delivering a speech while on his way to Washington, D.C., for his inauguration in 1829. From Harper's Weekly, 1881.
5 Remarkably Close U.S. Presidential Elections
United States electoral college map showing number of electoral votes by state.
How Does the Electoral College Work?
United States Electoral College votes by state
How Many Electoral College Votes Does Each U.S. State Have?
Discover
Small, white rat (genus Rattus) on a glass table. (rodent, laboratory, experiment)
Cruel and Unusual Punishments: 15 Types of Torture
Jackson (Wyoming, United States). Jackson Lake (also called Jackson Hole), southern end of the Teton Range (the Grand Tetons), Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA
7 Wonders of America
Cleopatra hieroglyphic carving the Ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Wall of the Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt.
What Did Cleopatra Look Like?
Happy, smiling, flying pig
7 Everyday English Idioms and Where They Come From
Eye. Eyelash. Eyeball. Vision.
7 Vestigial Features of the Human Body
King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)
9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes
Black widow spider
9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders

U.S. election results

inElectoral College
print Print
Please select which sections you would like to print:
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/topic/electoral-college
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Written by
Stephen Wayne
Emeritus Professor of Government, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Author of The Road to the White House, The Legislative Presidency, and others.
Stephen Wayne
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History

News •

After Bush v. Gore, Obama, Clinton wanted Electoral College scrapped • Nov. 22, 2024, 8:24 AM ET (The Hill)
The Latest: Trump to meet Biden at the White House, the president commends Harris for her campaign • Nov. 6, 2024, 9:26 PM ET (AP)
What is the Electoral College and how does the US use it to elect presidents? • Nov. 6, 2024, 9:08 AM ET (AP)
Harris campaign spends final hours reminding Pennsylvania of a Trump ally's joke about Puerto Rico • Nov. 4, 2024, 10:23 PM ET (AP)

Electoral College and popular vote results in U.S. elections are provided in the table.

U.S. presidential election results
year candidate political party electoral votes1 popular votes2 popular percentage3
1In elections from 1789 to 1804, each elector voted for two individuals without indicating which was to be president and which was to be vice president.
2In early elections, electors were chosen by legislatures, not by popular vote, in many states.
3Candidates winning no electoral votes and less than 2 percent of the popular vote are excluded; percentages may not add up to 100 percent because of rounding.
4Washington was unopposed for president in 1789 and 1792.
5Because the two houses of the New York legislature could not agree on electors, the state did not cast its electoral votes. North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the Constitution.
6As both Jefferson and Burr received the same number of electoral votes, the decision was referred to the House of Representatives. The Twelfth Amendment (1804) provided that electors cast separate ballots for president and vice president.
7As no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes, the decision was made by the House of Representatives.
8Greeley died shortly after the election in November. Three electors pledged to Greeley cast their votes for him, but they were not counted; the others cast their votes for the other candidates listed.
9Includes a variety of joint tickets with People's Party electors committed to Bryan.
10One Gore elector from Washington, D.C., abstained from casting an electoral vote.
Sources: Electoral and popular vote totals based on data from the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives; the United States Office of the Federal Register; the Federal Election Commission; Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, 4th ed. (2001); and the official certified state vote totals.
1789 George Washington 4 no formally organized parties 695
John Adams 34
John Jay 9
R.H. Harrison 6
John Rutledge 6
John Hancock 4
George Clinton 3
Samuel Huntington 2
John Milton 2
James Armstrong 1
Benjamin Lincoln 1
Edward Telfair 1
not voted 44
1792 George Washington 4 Federalist 132
John Adams Federalist 77
George Clinton Democratic-Republican 50
Thomas Jefferson 4
Aaron Burr 1
1796 John Adams Federalist 71
Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 68
Thomas Pinckney Federalist 59
Aaron Burr Antifederalist 30
Samuel Adams Democratic-Republican 15
Oliver Ellsworth Federalist 11
George Clinton Democratic-Republican 7
John Jay Independent-Federalist 5
James Iredell Federalist 3
George Washington Federalist 2
John Henry Independent 2
S. Johnston Independent-Federalist 2
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Independent-Federalist 1
1800 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 736
Aaron Burr Democratic-Republican 736
John Adams Federalist 65
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Federalist 64
John Jay Federalist 1
1804 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 162
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Federalist 14
1808 James Madison Democratic-Republican 122
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Federalist 47
George Clinton Independent-Republican 6
not voted 1
1812 James Madison Democratic-Republican 128
DeWitt Clinton Fusion 89
not voted 1
1816 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 183
Rufus King Federalist 34
not voted 4
1820 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 231
John Quincy Adams Independent-Republican 1
not voted 3
1824 John Quincy Adams no distinct party designations 847 108,740 30.9
Andrew Jackson 99 153,544 41.3
Henry Clay 37 47,531 13.0
William H. Crawford 41 40,856 11.2
1828 Andrew Jackson Democratic 178 647,286 56.0
John Quincy Adams National Republican 83 508,064 43.6
1832 Andrew Jackson Democratic 219 687,502 54.2
Henry Clay National Republican 49 530,189 37.4
William Wirt Anti-Masonic 7 100,715 7.8
John Floyd Nullifiers 11
not voted 2
1836 Martin Van Buren Democratic 170 762,678 50.8
William Henry Harrison Whig 73 550,816 36.6
Hugh L. White Whig 26 146,107 9.7
Daniel Webster Whig 14 41,201 2.7
W.P. Mangum Anti-Jackson 11
1840 William Henry Harrison Whig 234 1,275,016 52.9
Martin Van Buren Democratic 60 1,129,102 46.8
1844 James K. Polk Democratic 170 1,337,243 49.5
Henry Clay Whig 105 1,299,062 48.1
James Gillespie Birney Liberty 62,103 2.3
1848 Zachary Taylor Whig 163 1,360,099 47.3
Lewis Cass Democratic 127 1,220,544 42.5
Martin Van Buren Free Soil 291,501 10.1
1852 Franklin Pierce Democratic 254 1,601,274 50.8
Winfield Scott Whig 42 1,386,580 43.9
John Parker Hale Free Soil 155,210 4.9
1856 James Buchanan Democratic 174 1,838,169 45.3
John C. Frémont Republican 114 1,341,264 33.1
Millard Fillmore American (Know-Nothing) 8 873,053 21.5
1860 Abraham Lincoln Republican 180 1,866,452 39.9
John C. Breckinridge Southern Democratic 72 847,953 18.1
Stephen A. Douglas Democratic 12 1,380,202 29.5
John Bell Constitutional Union 39 590,901 12.6
1864 Abraham Lincoln Republican 212 2,213,665 55.0
George B. McClellan Democratic 21 1,805,237 45.0
not voted 81
1868 Ulysses S. Grant Republican 214 3,012,833 52.7
Horatio Seymour Democratic 80 2,703,249 47.3
not voted 23
1872 Ulysses S. Grant Republican 286 3,597,132 55.6
Horace Greeley 8 Democratic/Liberal Republican 2,834,125 43.8
Thomas A. Hendricks Independent-Democratic 42
B. Gratz Brown Democratic 18
Charles J. Jenkins Democratic 2
David Davis Democratic 1
not voted 17
1876 Rutherford B. Hayes Republican 185 4,036,298 48.0
Samuel J. Tilden Democratic 184 4,300,590 51.0
1880 James A. Garfield Republican 214 4,454,416 48.3
Winfield Scott Hancock Democratic 155 4,444,952 48.2
James B. Weaver Greenback 305,997 3.3
1884 Grover Cleveland Democratic 219 4,874,986 48.5
James G. Blaine Republican 182 4,851,981 48.3
1888 Benjamin Harrison Republican 233 5,439,853 47.8
Grover Cleveland Democratic 168 5,540,309 48.6
Clinton B. Fisk Prohibition 249,819 2.2
1892 Grover Cleveland Democratic 277 5,556,918 46.1
Benjamin Harrison Republican 145 5,176,108 43.0
James B. Weaver People's (Populist) 22 1,027,329 8.5
John Bidwell Prohibition 270,770 2.2
1896 William McKinley Republican 271 7,104,779 51.0
William Jennings Bryan Democratic 9 176 6,502,925 46.7
1900 William McKinley Republican 292 7,207,923 51.7
William Jennings Bryan Democratic 9 155 6,358,133 45.5
1904 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 336 7,623,486 56.4
Alton B. Parker Democratic 140 5,077,911 37.6
Eugene V. Debs Socialist 402,489 3.0
1908 William Howard Taft Republican 321 7,678,908 51.6
William Jennings Bryan Democratic 162 6,409,104 43.0
Eugene V. Debs Socialist 420,380 2.8
1912 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 435 6,293,454 41.8
Theodore Roosevelt Progressive (Bull Moose) 88 4,119,207 27.4
William Howard Taft Republican 8 3,483,922 23.2
Eugene V. Debs Socialist 900,369 6.0
1916 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 277 9,129,606 49.2
Charles Evans Hughes Republican 254 8,538,221 46.1
Allan L. Benson Socialist 589,924 3.2
1920 Warren G. Harding Republican 404 16,147,249 60.3
James M. Cox Democratic 127 9,140,864 34.1
Eugene V. Debs Socialist 897,704 3.4
1924 Calvin Coolidge Republican 382 15,725,016 54.1
John W. Davis Democratic 136 8,386,503 28.8
Robert M. La Follette Progressive 13 4,822,856 16.6
1928 Herbert Hoover Republican 444 21,392,190 58.0
Alfred E. Smith Democratic 87 15,016,443 40.7
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 472 22,821,857 57.3
Herbert Hoover Republican 59 15,761,841 39.6
Norman Thomas Socialist 884,781 2.2
1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 523 27,476,673 60.2
Alfred M. Landon Republican 8 16,679,583 36.5
1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 449 27,243,466 54.7
Wendell L. Willkie Republican 82 22,304,755 44.8
1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 432 25,602,505 53.3
Thomas E. Dewey Republican 99 22,006,278 45.8
1948 Harry S. Truman Democratic 303 24,105,695 49.4
Thomas E. Dewey Republican 189 21,969,170 45.0
Strom Thurmond States' Rights Democratic (Dixiecrat) 39 1,169,021 2.4
Henry A. Wallace Progressive 1,156,103 2.4
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican 442 33,778,963 54.9
Adlai E. Stevenson Democratic 89 27,314,992 44.4
1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican 457 35,581,003 57.4
Adlai E. Stevenson Democratic 73 25,738,765 42.0
1960 John F. Kennedy Democratic 303 34,227,096 49.7
Richard M. Nixon Republican 219 34,107,646 49.5
Harry F. Byrd not a candidate 15
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic 486 42,825,463 61.1
Barry M. Goldwater Republican 52 27,146,969 38.5
1968 Richard M. Nixon Republican 301 31,710,470 43.4
Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic 191 30,898,055 42.7
George C. Wallace American Independent 46 9,906,473 13.5
1972 Richard M. Nixon Republican 520 46,740,323 60.7
George S. McGovern Democratic 17 28,901,598 37.5
1976 Jimmy Carter Democratic 297 40,825,839 50.0
Gerald R. Ford Republican 240 39,147,770 48.0
1980 Ronald W. Reagan Republican 489 43,642,639 50.4
Jimmy Carter Democratic 49 35,480,948 41.0
John B. Anderson Independent 5,719,437 6.6
1984 Ronald W. Reagan Republican 525 54,455,075 58.8
Walter F. Mondale Democratic 13 37,577,185 40.6
1988 George H.W. Bush Republican 426 48,886,097 53.4
Michael S. Dukakis Democratic 111 41,809,074 45.7
1992 Bill Clinton Democratic 370 44,909,889 43.0
George Bush Republican 168 39,104,545 37.4
Ross Perot Independent 19,742,267 18.9
1996 Bill Clinton Democratic 379 47,402,357 49.2
Bob Dole Republican 159 39,198,755 40.7
Ross Perot Reform 8,085,402 8.4
2000 George W. Bush Republican 271 50,455,156 47.9
Al Gore Democratic 26610 50,992,335 48.4
Ralph Nader Green 2,882,897 2.7
2004 George W. Bush Republican 286 62,040,610 50.7
John Kerry Democratic 251 59,028,444 48.3
2008 Barack Obama Democratic 365 69,498,516 52.9
John McCain Republican 173 59,948,323 45.7
2012 Barack Obama Democratic 332 65,915,795 51.1
Mitt Romney Republican 206 60,933,504 47.2
2016 Donald Trump Republican 304 62,984,828 46.1
Hillary Clinton Democratic 227 65,853,514 48.2
2020 Joe Biden Democratic 306 81,283,501 51.3
Donald Trump Republican 232 74,223,975 46.8