popular vote

[pop-yuh-ler voht]

noun

1. the vote for a U.S. presidential candidate made by the qualified voters, as opposed to that made by the Electoral College.

2. the vote for a candidate, issue, etc., made by the qualified voters, as opposed to a vote made by elected representatives.

Word History and Origins

Origin of popular vote¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

There was no direct popular vote.

From BBC

Gore won the popular vote by nearly 544,000 votes but Bush won the electoral college vote 271-266 in a deeply contentious election that reached the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

By November, Harris had clawed her way back to a near-draw, leading in most surveys and losing the popular vote by only 1.5 percentage points — and even less in swing states.

From Salon

Sheinbaum also muscled across the finish line one of his most controversial undertakings: an overhaul of the judicial system that mandates judges be elected by popular vote.

From Los Angeles Times

In Minnesota, a state with a Democratic majority in terms of popular vote, with an evenly divided House delegation, the political assassination of state Rep. Melissa Hortman earlier this year gave Republicans control of the state House.

From Salon