Close Presidential Elections

Close Presidential Elections

How close was the last Presidential Election? What many people do not realize is that it was only the 13th closest (12 prior elections were closer).

RankYearWinnerNumber of electors votingNormalized victory marginPercentage
totalwinnerrunner-up
   (c)(w)(r)  
591824John Quincy Adams2619984Decided by House vote37.93%
581876Rutherford B. Hayes3691851840.00350.14%
572000George W. Bush5372712660.00950.47%
561796John Adams138[b]71680.02951.45%
551916Woodrow Wilson5312772540.04352.17%
541800Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr (tie)1387365Decided  by House vote52.90%
532004George W. Bush5382862510.06353.16%
521884Grover Cleveland4012191820.09254.61%
511976Jimmy Carter5382972400.10455.20%
501968Richard Nixon5383011910.11955.95%
491848Zachary Taylor2901631270.12456.21%
481960John F. Kennedy5373032190.12856.42%
472016Donald Trump[d]5383042270.1356.51%

An interesting fact is that four elections were not decided by popular vote but (as by law) by the electoral college. All four were won by Republicans. About 38% of all registered voters are Democrats, 29% are Republicans and 33% are either “Other” or Independents.

The Electoral College gives an advantage to smaller states since the formula allows each three electoral votes regardless of population. The following chart:

HouseElectoral
RankStatePopulationSeatsVotesRedBlue
152Wyoming            581,381133
251  Vermont647,0641                   3          3
350  District of Columbia671,8031*                   3          3
449  Alaska733,5831                   3         3
548  North Dakota779,2611                   3         3
647  South Dakota909,8241                   3         3
746  Delaware1,018,3961                   3          3
845  Rhode Island1,093,7342                   4          4
944  Montana1,122,8672                   4         4
1043  Maine1,385,3402                   4purplepurple
1142  New Hampshire1,395,2312                   4purplepurple
1241  Hawaii1,440,1962                   4          4
1340  West Virginia1,775,1562                   4         4
1439  Idaho1,939,0332                   4         4
1538  Nebraska1,967,9233                   5         5
1637  New Mexico2,113,3443                   5          5
1736  Kansas2,937,1504                   6         6
1835  Mississippi2,940,0574                   6         6
1934  Arkansas3,045,6374                   6         6
2033  Nevada3,177,7724                   6          6
2132  Iowa3,200,5174                   6         6
2230  Utah3,380,8004                   6         6
37,674,688955928
Total US331,449,281          538
% of Total11.4%17.7%

11.4% of the population has 17.7% of the votes.

The electoral provides an advantage to Republicans. My question is how well represented are the 1/3 of the registered voters that are not either Democrat or Republican? I have often heard the quip “If you don’t vote for either of the major parties you are throwing your vote away”.