Title: These Presidents Won Electoral College But Not Popular Vote | Time
Headings: These Presidents Won the Electoral College — But Not the Popular Vote
These Presidents Won the Electoral College — But Not the Popular Vote
Get our History Newsletter. Put today's news in context and see highlights from the archives.
Rutherford B. Hayes (1876)
Benjamin Harrison (1888)
George W. Bush (2000)
Donald Trump (2016)

Content: These Presidents Won Electoral College But Not Popular Vote | Time
History
politics
These Presidents Won the Electoral College — But Not the Popular Vote
These Presidents Won the Electoral College — But Not the Popular Vote
Donald Trump Takes the Presidential Oath
Volume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts
Enabled Disabled
Play/Pause SPACE
Increase Volume ↑
Decrease Volume ↓
Seek Forward →
Seek Backward ←
Captions On/Off c
Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreen f
Mute/Unmute m
Seek % 0-9
Settings
Off
captions_en
Font Color
White
Font Opacity
100%
Font Size
100%
Font Family
Arial
Character Edge
None
Background Color
Black
Background Opacity
50%
Window Color
Black
Window Opacity
0%
Reset
White
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
100%
75%
25%
200%
175%
150%
125%
100%
75%
50%
Arial
Courier
Georgia
Impact
Lucida Console
Tahoma
Times New Roman
Trebuchet MS
Verdana
None
Raised
Depressed
Uniform
Drop Shadow
White
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
White
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
facebook
twitter
Email
Link
https://time.com/5579161/presidents-elected-electoral-college/?jwsource=cl
Copied
180p
270p
720p
AAC Audio
360p
540p
Live
00:03
00:44
00:47
By Tara Law
May 15, 2019 4:58 PM EDT
A s Democratic presidential hopefuls unroll their platforms for the 2020 presidential election, some of the hot-button issues they’re discussing, such as immigration and healthcare, will sound familiar from past presidential races. But one idea that has popped up in the campaigns of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke and others may be unexpected: changing or abolishing the Electoral College. In some ways, it’s not actually surprising that more attention is being paid to the Electoral College. Two of the last three U.S. Presidents — Donald Trump and George W. Bush — were elected to their position without winning the popular vote. That’s possible because when Americans cast their ballots in a presidential election every four years, they’re not voting directly for President but rather for “electors” who promise to vote for a particular candidate. The electors from all the states come together to form the Electoral College and select the President. Because of the way the number of electors per state is determined, an individual vote from a sparsely populated state is worth more in the final count than a vote from a densely populated state, so it’s possible to win the Electoral College vote while losing the popular vote. Some 2020 candidates argue that abolishing the Electoral College would bring the country closer to the ideal of “one person, one vote.” Proponents also argue that the process would increase voter participation, especially in states that are deeply red or blue, whereas some voters today are left feeling that their vote cannot affect the result.