History of U.S. presidential elections 1789-2020

Statistics report on the history of U.S. presidential elections from 1789 to 2020

History of U.S. presidential elections 1789-2020

This report presents a range of statistics and facts relating to all U.S. presidential elections held from 1789 until  2020. The U.S. uses an electoral college system to elect its president, which generally sees each state hold a popular vote in order to decide who its electoral votes will be awarded to. There are a total of 538 electoral votes on offer across the U.S. (split among the states according to population), and a majority of 270 is needed to win the election outright. 59 presidential elections have been held since 1789, and the elections have gradually grown in scale and prominence throughout this time. The history of U.S. presidential elections report includes data relating to election results, turnout rates and voting patterns, including data relating to key battleground states in recent elections.

Table of contents

Historical results

7
  • Basic Statistic Share of electoral and popular votes by each United States president 1789-2020
  • Basic Statistic Share of electoral votes for major parties in US presidential elections 1860-2020
  • Basic Statistic Share of popular votes for major parties in US presidential elections 1860-2020
  • Basic Statistic Electoral vote difference in U.S. presidential re-election campaigns 1792-2020
  • Basic Statistic Popular vote difference in U.S. presidential re-election campaigns 1832-2020
  • Basic Statistic Winning margins for votes in U.S. presidential elections 1789-2020
  • Basic Statistic Third-party performances in U.S. presidential elections 1892-2020

Voter turnout

7
  • Basic Statistic Number of votes cast in U.S. presidential elections 1824-2020
  • Basic Statistic Voter turnout in U.S. presidential and midterm elections 1789-2020
  • Basic Statistic Share of total population who voted in U.S. presidential elections 1824-2020
  • Basic Statistic Voter turnout in US presidential elections by ethnicity 1964-2020
  • Basic Statistic Voter turnout in U.S. presidential elections by gender 1964-2020
  • Basic Statistic Voter turnout in U.S. presidential elections by age 1964-2020
  • Premium Statistic U.S. major political party identification 2000-2023

History of 2020 battleground states

12
  • Basic Statistic Arizona's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1912-2020
  • Basic Statistic Florida's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1848-2020
  • Basic Statistic Georgia's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1789-2020
  • Basic Statistic Michigan's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1836-2020
  • Basic Statistic Minnesota's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1860-2020
  • Basic Statistic Nevada's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1864-2020
  • Basic Statistic New Hampshire's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1789-2020
  • Basic Statistic North Carolina's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1792-2020
  • Basic Statistic Ohio's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1804-2020
  • Basic Statistic Pennsylvania's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1789-2020
  • Basic Statistic Texas's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1848-2020
  • Basic Statistic Wisconsin's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1848-2020

Other

5
  • Premium Statistic Party each state voted for in presidential elections by number of wins U.S. 1900-2020
  • Basic Statistic Current voting streak by each state in U.S. presidential elections 1964-2020
  • Basic Statistic Longest voting streak by each state in U.S. presidential elections 1789-2020
  • Basic Statistic Share of U.S. presidential elections where each state voted for the winner 1900-2020
  • Basic Statistic Age of US Presidents when first taking office 1789-2021

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