Thomas Jefferson was the man who had the fewest number of electoral votes and still became president. He had 73 during the election of 1800.
In the end Adams received 71 electoral votes, winning the election. Jefferson finished second with 68 votes. under the provisions of the Constitution at that time, the person with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president. Jefferson therefore became the new vice president. The administration that took office on March 4, 1797, had a Federalist president and Republican vice president. :D
Electoral votes in the Electoral College determine the President and Vice President of the United States. Every state and DC are awarded a certain number of electoral votes with which to elect the President and Vice President. Each state has electoral votes equal to the total of the 2 representative the state has in the U.S. Senate plus the number of representative the state has in the House of Representatives. The electors in each state are elected in the presidential election and swear in advance to vote for the presidential candidate who wins the election in their state.
The 12th Amendment of the Constitution states that electors are to vote separately for the president and vice president, on separate electoral ballots.Before this amendment the electors cast two votes in one election and the second-place finisher was made vice-president. In 1800 Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, tied in electoral votes, sending the election into the House of Representatives to decide and this event prompted the introduction and ratification of the 12th amendment in time for the 1804 election.The 12th amendment does this. .Before this amendment, ratified in the early 1800s, the person with the most votes became president and the person with the next greatest number of votes became vice president.
When the people vote, they are really voting for delegates to the Electoral College. Each states' number of delegates is equal to the number of representatives it has in the US House of Representatives plus the two Senators it has in the US Senate. For example, in 2008 PA had 19 Reps. and two Senators, so it had 21 Electoral Votes. The Electoral College votes in December following a presidential election and chooses the president and VP. To become president or VP a candidate must receive a majority (51% or more - 270+/538) of Electoral votes.
If no candidate for the presidency wins a simple majority (51%) of the total number of electoral votes, then the House of Representatives have the power to choose the President of the US. Each state gets one vote. The margin required to choose the president in the House is a majority of those voting. The only time this happened, in 1824, the representatives of some of the states could not agree on how to vote and so those states did not vote.
There are a total of 538 electoral votes available. One half of 538 is 269, so it would take at least 270 electoral votes to win. If there is a tie, then the House of Representatives will elect the President and Vice President.
During the first three Presidential elections the President and the Vice-President were chosen by the number of electoral votes. The vice-president was chosen by having the second highest number of electoral votes.
When Jefferson became President the electorial system was not in place. Congress voted for the man they wanted.
270
There are 7 states and 1 district with the lowest number of electoral votes, 3:AlaskaWyomingMontanaNorth DakotaSouth DakotaDelawareVermontWashington, D.C.
270 is the number needed for election.
Electoral votes in the U.S. Electoral College determine the President and Vice President of the United States. The number of electoral votes for each state is equal to the sum of its number of Senators and its number of Representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives. Based on the 2010 Census, there are 9 members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona. Therefore, Arizona has 11 electoral votes.
In the end Adams received 71 electoral votes, winning the election. Jefferson finished second with 68 votes. under the provisions of the Constitution at that time, the person with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president. Jefferson therefore became the new vice president. The administration that took office on March 4, 1797, had a Federalist president and Republican vice president.
It takes a minimum of 270 electoral votes out of the 538 available to elect a president in the United States. Thus, theoretically, it would be possible to achieve this with winning the majority in just 11 states that collectively have a total of 270 electoral votes. However, in practice, presidential candidates typically aim to win a diverse set of states to secure a broader base of support.
the electoral college works like this the convention delegates settled on a system in which each state legislature would choose a number of electors. The electoral college would select the president and vice president.
In the end Adams received 71 electoral votes, winning the election. Jefferson finished second with 68 votes. under the provisions of the Constitution at that time, the person with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president. Jefferson therefore became the new vice president. The administration that took office on March 4, 1797, had a Federalist president and Republican vice president. :D
Each state has a minimum of three electoral votes, calculated by the combined number of Senators and Representatives that state has in Congress.Every state has two Senators, and is guaranteed at least one member of the House; therefore, the fewest possible electoral votes is three. California, which has two Senators and 53 Congressmen in the House of Representatives, has the greatest number of electoral votes, at 55.For more information, see Related Question, below.