popular vote
Americannoun
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the vote for a U.S. presidential candidate made by the qualified voters, as opposed to that made by the Electoral College.
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the vote for a candidate, issue, etc., made by the qualified voters, as opposed to a vote made by elected representatives.
Etymology
Origin of popular vote
An Americanism dating back to 1830–40
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When he ran in 1992, he received 18.9% of the popular vote, support that most pollsters said came equally from both parties, but garnered no electoral votes.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
In a leafy eastern district of the capital on Tuesday, around 300 pro-Machado demonstrators reiterated their demand for a popular vote to be held.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Monterey Park became the first city in the country earlier this month to permanently ban data centers by a popular vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
In the decades after World War II, German politics was dominated by the center-right Christian Democrats and center-left Social Democrats, whose combined share of the popular vote stood at 67% as recently as 2013.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
“It’s an outrage!” says McGuinty, leaning slightly toward Norma now that he sees he’s got the popular vote.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
