As of 2019, which U.S. Presidential election recorded the smallest electoral vote victory, without resulting in a draw?

The 1876 election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden, resulted in the smallest electoral vote victory. Hayes ultimately won by one electoral vote over his democratic opponent.

This election started out with the first count of votes Tilden received 184 to 165 for Hayes, and 20 electoral votes unassigned because of various disputes. Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina had problems with the printing of ballots. South Carolina also had 101% voter turnout. All of these issues put the votes from those states into doubt. A fourth, Oregon, had an elector disqualified since he was "an elected or appointed" official. The 20 electoral votes ended up assigned to Hayes and the Democrats rejected the results.

An electoral commission was created in January 1877 in order to settle the issue. Based on the results from the commission, Hayes won by a single electoral vote. The commission completed its work on March 2, 1877, two days before the inauguration.

It is also the only election to date in which a candidate for the presidency (Tilden) received more than 50 percent of the popular vote, but was not elected president.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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12 Comments

GONavarini

sweetqb, the idea is to make sure a small group of states can hold a virtual monopoly on the White House. Remember, as per the Consitution, as a republic (and NOT a direct democracy) it is the several states and not the people that select the chief executive. If we were to revert to a direct democracy (many times erroneously referred to as a national popular vote, the residents of nine counties in four states could have the voting power to select the president, effectively nullifying the voice and negating the interests of the vast majority of the states.

GONavarini

filmnut, nice concept, but remember, the U.S. is NOT a democracy, and the Framers never intended the country to be one. As per the Constitution, it is the several states and not the people who select the republic's chief executive.

sweetqb

filmnut, What about those who have multiple internet accounts? would they get a pin and a vote for each one??? Not such a good idea.

sweetqb

The Electoral College prevents those states with the densest population from deciding every election. ie: the Northeast cities, and the west coast. No thank you.

filmnut

With the Smart Phone and Computers being fast and accurate by giving each voter a pin and a password a true democracy could be achieved in a presidential election.