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.
Before discussing the Payne proposal further, let me describe Arizona’s long and unique history of putting methods of execution to a popular vote.
From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026
In the Buenos Aires election, the leading Peronist party, the Justicialists, won 47% of the popular vote.
From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025
In Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapaksa—hailed by supporters as a war hero for helping end a decadeslong civil war—won re-election with nearly 60% of the popular vote.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
There was, to be sure, a boomlet for George Wallace, but his popular vote share in 1968 was only 13.5 percent.
From Salon • Aug. 9, 2025
“So basically,” Scrap says, “you won the popular vote ’cause everybody loved you in the Ring, but you still lost the election since he the one getting fame?”
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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.
