verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style

A History of U.S. Presidential Elections in Maps

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style

The president of the United States is elected every four years by way of the electoral college, a system devised by the creators of the Constitution that today requires a candidate to secure at least 270 electoral votes from the states to win. That means the history of presidential elections is one best told through maps.

Click on an election year in our presidential election interactive or on one of the headlines below to see a map of how electoral and popular votes broke down across the states, and to learn more about the elections and their candidates.