The 2016 presidential election was a unique election cycle in the sense that it did not follow normal election cycle protocol, and the result was one that has rarely occurred in American history, where a candidate wins the popular vote, yet loses the Electoral College and the presidency. A small majority of Americans wanted Secretary Clinton to be President, yet Mr. Trump won the Electoral College and 2016 Presidential Election. Even though Secretary Clinton won the popular vote, she still lost the general election. This is one of the few times in U.S. history where the popular vote did not coincide with the Electoral College decision. According to Thomas Patterson (2013), author of We the People, the elections of 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000 were the only elections where a candidate won the presidency after losing the popular vote (p. 400). This happened for a few reasons. This discrepancy is
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According to the official 2016 CNN Exit Polls, or “surveys of a small percentage of voters taken after they leave their voting place”, the area type exit polls might help explain Mr. Trump’s win (2016). Mr. Trump received 50 percent of the suburban vote, as well as 62 percent of the rural vote (CNN 2016). This means nearly two thirds of the geographic U.S. voted for Mr. Trump (CNN, 2016). This gave him the advantage in the Electoral College, the part of the U.S. political system that actually decides which candidate becomes president. The Electoral College was established by the Founding Fathers as a way to help prevent rule by the masses and popular majorities (Patterson pg. 56;400, 2013). The Electoral College functions as a buffer between the popular election votes and the presidency, meaning the winner of the state’s popular vote would receive a proportional amount of Electoral College votes, which are determined by a minimum number of three electoral votes, two votes for “its Senate representation” plus a “varying number of electoral votes depending on its House
According to the official 2016 CNN Exit Polls, or “surveys of a small percentage of voters taken after they leave their voting place”, the area type exit polls might help explain Mr. Trump’s win (2016). Mr. Trump received 50 percent of the suburban vote, as well as 62 percent of the rural vote (CNN 2016). This means nearly two thirds of the geographic U.S. voted for Mr. Trump (CNN, 2016). This gave him the advantage in the Electoral College, the part of the U.S. political system that actually decides which candidate becomes president. The Electoral College was established by the Founding Fathers as a way to help prevent rule by the masses and popular majorities (Patterson pg. 56;400, 2013). The Electoral College functions as a buffer between the popular election votes and the presidency, meaning the winner of the state’s popular vote would receive a proportional amount of Electoral College votes, which are determined by a minimum number of three electoral votes, two votes for “its Senate representation” plus a “varying number of electoral votes depending on its House