The 

election of the president and the 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.[note 1] 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.
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 the popular vote to choose electors. Once
chosen, electors generally cast their electoral votes for the candidate who won the plurality in their
state, but 18 states do not have provisions that specifically address this behavior; those who vote in
opposition to the plurality are known as "faithless" or "unpledged" electors.[1] 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 of a US presidential election also wins the national popular vote. There were
four exceptions since all states had the electoral system we know today. They happened in 1876,
1888, 2000, and 2016 and were all losses of three percentage points or less.
Presidential elections occur quadrennially on leap years with registered voters casting their ballots
on Election Day, which since 1845 has been the first Tuesday after November 1.[2][3][4] 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).
[5]
 A 2016 general election ballot, listing the presidential and vice presidential candidates

Contents

 1History
o 1.1Electoral College
o 1.2State legislatures
o 1.3Vice presidents
o 1.4Tie votes
o 1.5Popular vote
o 1.6Election dates
o 1.7Electoral Count Act of 1887
o 1.8Inauguration day
o 1.9Campaign spending
o 1.10Political parties
 2Procedure
o 2.1Eligibility requirements
o 2.2Decentralized election system and voter eligibility
o 2.3Nominating process
o 2.4Campaign strategy
o 2.5The popular vote on Election Day
o 2.6Electoral college
o 2.7Election calendar
 3Trends
o 3.1Previous experience
o 3.2Technology and media
 4Criticism
o 4.1Proposed changes to the election process
 5Electoral college results
 6Popular vote results
 7Voter turnout
 8Financial disclosures
 9Presidential coattails
 10Comparison with other U.S. general elections
 11See also
o 11.1Lists
o 11.2Party systems
o 11.3Comparing elected candidate to popular vote or margins
o 11.4Statistical forecasts
 12Notes
 13References
 14Further reading
 15External links
o 15.1Statistical forecasts

History[edit]
Electoral College[edit]
Article Two of the Constitution originally established the method of presidential elections, including
the creation of the Electoral College, the result of a compromise between those constitutional
framers who wanted the Congress to choose the president, and those who preferred a national
popular vote.[6]
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[edit]
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".[7] During the first presidential election in 1789, only 6 of the 13 original states
chose electors by any form of popular vote.[note 2]
Gradually throughout the years, the states began conducting popular elections to choose their slate
of electors. In 1800, only five of the 16 states chose electors by a popular vote; by 1824, after the
rise of Jacksonian democracy, the proportion of states that chose electors by popular vote had
sharply risen to 18 out of 24 states.[8] This gradual movement toward
greater democratization coincided with a gradual decrease in property restrictions for the franchise.
[8]
 By 1840, only one of the 26 states (South Carolina) still selected electors by the state legislature.[9]

Vice presidents[edit]
Under the original system established by Article Two, electors cast votes for two different 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[edit]
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.

Popular vote[edit]
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.[10]
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
  Democrat
  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.[11] 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 just their respective statewide results.

Election dates[edit]
The presidential election day was established on a Tuesday in November because of the factors
involved (weather, harvests and worship) when voters used to travel to the polls by horse, Tuesday
was an ideal day because it allowed people to worship on Sunday, ride to their county seat on
Monday, and vote on Tuesday—all before market day, Wednesday. November also fits nicely
between harvest time and harsh winter weather, which could be especially bad to people traveling
by horse and buggy.[12]

Electoral Count Act of 1887[edit]

Main article: Electoral Count Act
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.[13]

Inauguration day[edit]
Until 1937, presidents were not sworn in until March 4 because it took so long to count and report
ballots, and because of the winner's logistical issues in moving to the capital. With improvements in
transportation and the passage of the Twentieth Amendment, presidential inaugurations were moved
forward to noon on January 20, thereby allowing presidents to start their duties sooner.[12]

Campaign spending[edit]
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 previous calendar year so they can start raising and spending the money
needed for their nationwide campaign.[5]

Political parties[edit]
The first president, George Washington, was elected as an independent. Since the election of his
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.

Procedure[edit]
Eligibility requirements[edit]

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.[14] 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”[15] for many reasons, but most significantly because Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 would
violate the legal principle of surplussage[16] 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.[17] 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.[5] Potential candidates usually
form exploratory committees even earlier to determine the feasibility of them actually running.

Decentralized election system and voter eligibility[edit]

Further information: Elections in the United States, Voting rights in the United States, and Voter
registration in the United States
The U.S. presidential election process, like all other elections in the United States, is a highly
decentralized system.[18] 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.[19]
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.[20]
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.[19] And the specific requirements for voter eligibility and registration also vary by state,
e.g. some states ban convicted felons from voting.[21]

Nominating process[edit]
Main articles: United States presidential primary and United States presidential nominating
convention
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 Convention.

The 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.[22] In
contrast, the Republicans assigned to each state 10 delegates, plus three delegates per
congressional district.[23] Both parties then gave a fixed number of delegates to each territory, and
finally bonus delegates to states and territories that passed certain criteria.[22][23]
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.[24][25][26][27]
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[edit]
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).[28]  
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).[28]
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 adds 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).[28] 
These are just some of the wide variety of tactics used in campaigns.
The popular vote on Election Day[edit]

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,"[2] i.e., a Tuesday no earlier than November 2 and
no later than November 8.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31]

Electoral college[edit]
Main article: Electoral College (United States)
Electoral College map showing results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Democratic Party (United States) 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, instead of giving two electoral
votes to the statewide winner and one electoral vote to the winner of each Congressional district.
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,[32]
[33]
 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 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 are required to invalidate those electoral votes in question.
[34]

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[edit]
The typical periods of the presidential election process are as follows, with the dates corresponding
to the 2020 general election:

 Late 2018 to early 2019 – Candidates announce their intentions to run, and (if necessary) file
their Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission
 June 2019 to April 2020 – Primary and caucus debates
 February 3 to June 16, 2020 – Primaries and caucuses
 Late May to August 2020 – Nominating conventions (including those of the minor third
parties)
 September and October 2020 – Presidential election debates
 Tuesday November 3, 2020 – Election Day
 Monday December 14, 2020 – Electors cast their electoral votes
 Wednesday January 6, 2021 – Congress counts and certifies the electoral votes

Trends[edit]
Previous experience[edit]
See also: List of Presidents of the United States by previous experience and List of Presidents of
the United States by other offices held

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.[35] 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. However, only 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;
[36]
 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[edit]

See also: Social media in the 2016 United States presidential election

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.[37] It was only
used by a few candidates and there is no evidence of any major effect on the outcomes of that
election cycle.[37]
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.[38] 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.[38] It allowed his supporters to read about his campaign platform and
provide feedback, donate, get involved with the campaign, and connect with other supporters.
[37]
 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.[37]
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.[39] Internet channels such as YouTube were used by candidates
to share speeches and ads and to attack candidates by uploading videos of gaffes.[37]
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.[40]
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".[41] This decision made only paid
political ads placed on websites subject to campaign finance limitations.[42] 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."[41]
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.[43] This is known as "priming". For example, during the 2016
presidential election with candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Trump successfully
influenced the way voters thought about Clinton, while Clinton was less successful in doing so in
return. Trump primed voters to think of Clinton as "Crooked Hillary" or a "Nasty Woman".[44] Trump
played to the interests of his voters, and, while Clinton did so as well, her concentration of
advertisements about defeating Trump was not always beneficial to her campaign. 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.[45] 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.[43] Trump's
campaigning and well-known slogan, "Make America Great Again", made Americans feel like the
country was in a time of loss. When that happens, the electorate will be willing to take a risk on
voting for a candidate without political experience as long as he or she is convincing enough.
[43]
 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).[44]
Criticism[edit]
Main articles: Criticism of the United States Electoral College, Criticism of United States presidential
primary, and History of United States presidential nominating convention

2012 Republican primaries and caucuses calendar.

  January 2012 (4)   April 2012 (9)

  February 2012 (7)   May 2012 (7)
  March 2012 (23)   June 2012 (6)

2012 swing states, where the margin of victory was eight percentage points or fewer.
  States won by Republican Mitt Romney by 0–4 percentage points
  States won by Democrat Barack Obama by 0–4 percentage points
  States won by Democrat Barack Obama 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-take-all system, both the Democratic and the
Republican candidates are almost certain to win all the electoral votes from those states whose
residents predominantly vote for 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 like Ohio 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 or
predominantly Republican Party "safe states". In practice, the winner-take-all system also both
reinforces the country's two-party system and decreases the importance of third and minor political
parties.[46] 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 is also
possible to secure the necessary 270 electoral votes from only the eleven most populous states and
then ignore the rest of the country.

Proposed changes to the election process[edit]

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.[47]
Other constitutional amendments, such as the Every Vote Counts Amendment, have been proposed
seeking to replace the Electoral College with a direct popular vote, which proponents argue would
increase turnout and participation. Those opposed to such measures argue that using the popular
vote method would result in the eight to ten most populated states having full control over electing
the president, leaving the other 40-plus states with almost no influence in electing the President.
Other proposed reforms include the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an interstate
compact without Congressional authorization, whereby individual participating states agree to
allocate their electors based on the winner of the national popular vote, instead of voting their
respective statewide results. Another proposal is for every state to simply 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 Automatic Plan would replace the Electors
with an automatic tallying of votes to eliminate the faithless elector affecting the outcome of the
election. The Proportional Plan, often compared to the District Plan, would distribute electoral votes
in each state in proportion to the popular vote, introducing third party effects in election outcomes.
The House Plan would require a constitutional amendment to allocate electors based on the House
apportionment alone to lessen small state advantage. Direct election plans and bonus plans both
place a higher valuation on the popular vote for president.[48]

See also[edit]
 Outline of American politics § Elections
 American election campaigns in the 19th century
Lists[edit]

 List of presidents of the United States

 List of United States presidential election results by state
 List of United States presidential elections by Electoral College margin
 List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin
Party systems[edit]

 First Party System, Federalists vs Democratic-Republicans, 1790s–1820s

 Second Party System, Democrats vs Whigs, 1830s–1850s
 Third Party System, Republicans vs Democrats, 1850s–1890s
 Fourth Party System, Republicans vs Democrats, 1890s–1930s; "Progressive Era"
 Fifth Party System, Democrats vs Republicans, 1930s–1980s
 Sixth Party System, Democrats vs Republicans, 1980s-present
Comparing elected candidate to popular vote or margins[edit]

 List of United States presidential candidates by number of votes received

 List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin
 List of United States presidential elections by Electoral College margin
 United States presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote
 United States' presidential plurality victories
Statistical forecasts[edit]

 Electoral-vote.com
 FiveThirtyEight
 PollyVote
 270towin.com

Notes[edit]
1. ^ Individual states select electors by methods decided at the state level. Since 1836, all states
have selected electors by statewide popular vote. See the United States Electoral College article for
more information.
2. ^ Of the 13 original states during the 1789 election, six states chose electors by some form of
popular vote, four states chose electors by a different method, North Carolina and Rhode Island were
ineligible to participate since they had not yet ratified the U.S. Constitution, and New York failed to
appoint their allotment of electors in time because of a deadlock in their state legislature.
3. ^ Prior to the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, electors cast two ballots, both for
President. The candidate who received a majority of electoral votes became President, and the
runner-up became Vice President.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b Adams was elected Vice President.
5. ^ Jefferson was elected Vice President.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c Breakdown by ticket results are available for the 1800 election.
7. ^ In total, Madison received 122 electoral votes.
8. ^ Six faithless electors from New York voted for Clinton instead of Madison. Three cast their
vice presidential vote for Madison, and three for Monroe.
9. ^ While commonly labeled as the Federalist candidate, Clinton technically ran as a
Democratic-Republican and was not nominated by the Federalist party itself, the latter simply deciding
not to field a candidate. This did not prevent endorsements from state Federalist parties (such as in
Pennsylvania), but he received the endorsement from the New York state Democratic-Republicans as
well.
10. ^ Three faithless electors, two from Massachusetts and one from New Hampshire, voted for
Gerry for vice president instead of Ingersoll.
11. ^ Electors from Massachusetts voted for Howard, electors from Delaware voted for Harper,
and electors from Connecticut split their vote between Ross and Marshall. In total, King received 34
electoral votes.
12. ^ Although the Federalists did not field a candidate, several Federalist electors voted for
Federalist vice presidential candidates instead of Tompkins. In total, Monroe received 231 electoral
votes.
13. ^ Monroe ran unopposed, but faithless elector William Plumer of New Hampshire voted for
Adams and Rush instead of Monroe and Tompkins.
14. ^ Since no candidate received a majority of the electoral vote, the House of Representatives
elected the president. In the House, 13 state delegations voted for Adams, seven for Jackson, and
four for Crawford.
15. ^ 74 of Adams' electors voted for Calhoun, nine voted for Jackson, and one did not vote for
vice president.
16. ^ In total, Crawford received 40 electoral votes.
17. ^ In total, Clay received 38 electoral votes.
18. ^ 7 faithless electors from Georgia voted for Smith instead of Calhoun.
19. ^ All 30 of Pennsylvania's electors voted for Wilkins instead of Van Buren. In total, Jackson
received 219 electoral votes.
20. ^ Jump up to:a b All the electoral votes came from South Carolina, where the electors were chosen
by the legislature and not by popular vote.
21. ^ All 23 of Virginia's electors voted for Smith for vice president instead of Johnson, which
resulted in Johnson failing to obtain a majority of the electoral votes. As a result, the election went to
the Senate, which elected Johnson by a vote of 33–16.
22. ^ In total, Harrison received 73 electoral votes.
23. ^ In total, Van Buren received 60 electoral votes.
24. ^ Johnson, a Democrat, was nominated on the National Union ticket along with Lincoln, a
Republican.
25. ^ The electoral votes of Tennessee and Louisiana were not counted. Had they been counted,
Lincoln would have received 229 electoral votes.
26. ^ All popular votes were originally for Horace Greeley and Benjamin Gratz Brown.
 27. ^ Jump up to:a b c The used sources had insufficient data to determine the pairings of four electoral
votes in Missouri. Therefore, the possible tickets are listed with the minimum and maximum possible
number of electoral votes each.
28. ^ In total, Hendricks received 42 electoral votes.
29. ^ Greeley died before the Electoral College voted; as a result the electoral vote intended for
Greeley and Brown went to several other candidates.
30. ^ In total, Davis received one electoral vote.
31. ^ While the Democrats and Populists both nominated Bryan, the two parties had different vice
presidential running mates.
32. ^ Butler replaced Sherman, who died before the election was held.
33. ^ W. F. Turner, a faithless elector from Alabama, voted for Jones and Talmadge instead of
Stevenson and Kefauver.
34. ^ Unpledged electors voted for Byrd and Thurmond. Henry D. Irwin, a faithless elector
from Oklahoma, cast his vote for Byrd and Goldwater instead of Nixon and Lodge.
35. ^ Faithless elector Roger MacBride of Virginia voted for Hospers and Nathan instead of Nixon
and Agnew.
36. ^ Mike Padden, a faithless elector from Washington, voted for Reagan instead of Ford. He
voted for Dole, however, as pledged.
37. ^ Faithless elector Margarette Leach of West Virginia voted for Bentsen for president and
Dukakis for vice president, instead of Dukakis for president and Bentsen for vice president.
38. ^ One of the D.C. electors pledged to Gore-Lieberman abstained from the final vote.
39. ^ One anonymous faithless elector from Minnesota voted for Edwards for both president and
vice president.
40. ^ Jump up to:a b 1 faithless electoral vote from Texas.
41. ^ 3 faithless electoral votes from Washington.
42. ^ 1 faithless electoral vote from Hawaii.
43. ^ 1 faithless electoral vote from Washington.
44. ^ Up until 1800, the runner-up in a Presidential election became the Vice President.
45. ^ While commonly labeled as the Federalist candidate, Clinton technically ran as a
Democratic-Republican and was not nominated by the Federalist party itself, the latter simply deciding
not to field a candidate. This did not prevent endorsements from state Federalist parties (such as in
Pennsylvania), but he received the endorsement from the New York state Democratic-Republicans as
well.
46. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Lost popular vote.

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59. ^ Sherman, Amy (August 19, 2012), Debbie Wasserman Schultz' claim about release of tax
returns of major candidates is false, says PolitiFact Florida Archived 2013-02-23 at the Wayback
Machine, Miami Herald.
60. ^ Robert Farley, Romney and the Tax Return Precedent, FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public
Policy Center, July 19, 2012.
61. ^ About the Project, Tax History Project.
62. ^ Presidential Tax Returns, Tax History Project.
63. ^ Jump up to:a b Alan Rappeport, Donald Trump Breaks With Recent History by Not Releasing Tax
Returns, New York Times (May 11, 2016).
64. ^ Jeanne Sahadi, Nixon released his tax returns under audit. Why can't Trump?, CNN Money
(May 11, 2016).
65. ^ Sean Gorman, Tim Kaine correctly notes Richard Nixon released tax returns despite
audit, PolitiFact (October 5, 2016).
66. ^ "Government By the People; national, state, and local version" Prentice Hall publishers, by
Cronin Magleby O'Brien Light
67. ^ Desilver, D. (2014) Voter turnout always drops off for midterm elections, but why? Pew
Research Center, July 24, 2014.
68. ^ "Voter Turnout".  FairVote. Retrieved  2001-04-08.  Low turnout is most pronounced in off-
year elections for state legislators and local officials as well as primaries
69. ^ Crespi, Irving (23 August 1988). Pre-Election Polling: Sources of Accuracy and Error.
Russell Sage Foundation. pp. 124, 178–180. ISBN 9781610441445.

Further reading[edit]
 Congressional Quarterly. Presidential elections, 1789-1996 (1997) online
 Roseboom, Eugene H. A history of presidential elections (1957) online
 Schlesinger, Arthur. Jr., ed. History of American Presidential Elections, 1789–
2008 (2011) 3 vol and 11 vol editions; detailed analysis of each election, with primary
documents; online v. 1. 1789-1824 -- v. 2. 1824-1844 -- v. 3. 1848-1868 -- v. 4. 1872-1888
-- v. 5. 1892-1908 -- v. 6. 1912-1924 -- v. 7. 1928-1940 -- v. 8. 1944-1956 -- v. 9. 1960-1968
-- v. 10. 1972-1984 -- v. 11. 1988-2001

External links[edit]
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 The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara: 52,000+ Presidential Documents)
 Electoral College Box Scores
 Teaching about Presidential Elections
 All the maps since 1840 by counties (in French)
 Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
 History of U.S. Presidential Elections: 1789–2004
 Graphic election results from 1952 to 2008 broken down by state (Java Applet)
 A history of the presidency from the point of view of Vermont Discusses history of
American presidential elections with two states as opposite "poles", Vermont, and Alabama
 The Living Room Candidate: A Compilation of Presidential Television Ads
 Presidential Elections, from History.com
 A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825
 How close were Presidential Elections? – Michael Sheppard, Michigan State University
 Better World Links on the U.S. Presidential Election
 Presidential Elections: Resource Guides from the Library of Congress
 Presidential Elections: Vacancies in Major-Party Candidacies and the Position of
President-Elect from Congressional Research Service
 U.S. Election Statistics: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
 "Electoral Votes" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905. This is a tabulation of the
electoral votes by election year, and also includes the results for vice president.
 Voting poll for US Presidential Elections
Statistical forecasts[edit]

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