Taking another look at this post , I see now that I made two mistakes (some I noticed and some others pointed out). First, I didn't use eligible voters, I used total population. Second, I could have easily rigged it to come out with exactly 270 votes by simply removing a state. So, I redid the calculation with data from here . (See below.) In this case, Wyoming through Wisconsin yielded 273, so I subtracted Montana, which is the least over-represented state with three electoral votes. The total was barely changed from the other calculation: 21.95%. Still, technical accuracy is worth checking. 2008 Presidential election, via Wikimedia In comments, Alon added: "Well, Tony Blair won his three general election with an average of 40% of the popular vote and only 35% in 2005." This is a valid point; parliamentary systems often return a prime minister who has only won a plurality. However, to clarify the point, the really egregious thing about the electoral colleg