As of 2016 the winning candidate has to receive 270 of electoral votes to become President.
This number is one more than 1/2 of the total of 538votes and so is the majority of the votes.
270 electoral votes are required. There are 538 members of the electoral college and you need a majority to win outright. There are scenarios for a 269-269 split and how to break the tie.
You must receive a majority of votes by the electoral college.
The Electoral College
In the 52 U.S. presidential elections that were after the vice presidential election was separated from the presidential election and in which the electoral college elected the president, the winning candidate received votes from an average of 71.9% of appointed electors. Multiplying that by the 538 electors we have had per election for the past 50 years gives 387 votes. The minimum is the lowest whole number that is greater than 50%. For the past 50 years, that minimum has been 270.
268
A majority of votes by the electoral college :)
An electoral map is a map of the 50 states of the United States which shows: 1. the number of electoral votes each state has 2. an estimate of how each state is expected to vote for president. Except for Maine and Nebraska, in each state the winner of the popular vote gets all of that state's electoral votes. By estimating which candidate is expected to win the popular vote in each state, it is possible to make an educated guess as to how many electoral votes each candidate will get. From estimating the total each candidate will get it is possible to estimate who will receive the 270 electoral votes needed to be elected president and make an educated guess as to who will be elected president.
If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the Twelfth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that the U.S. House of Representatives will select the president, with each of the fifty state delegations casting one vote, and the U.S. Senate will select the vice-president.
It is impossible for candidates NOT to receive electoral votes. The president is solely elected upon electoral votes. At the current point in time a candidate MUST receive at least 270 electoral votes to win. If a candidate does not receive 270 votes, the U.S, House of Representatives elects the President from among the 3 candidates receiving the most electoral votes. 12th Amendment to the constitution
George Washington received 100% of the electoral votes and was unanimously elected President in 1789 and 1792.
The candidate must receive 270 electoral votes to become president of the United States of America.
The president is elected by the electoral college. When the Constitution was first written, the authors felt that the common man was not educated well enough to elect the proper person as president. The electoral college system was set up to elect the president. Every state has a number of electors equal to the combined number of representatives and senators it has in Congress. When citizens go to the polls and vote, they elect the candidate for which they want their electors to vote. For example, if your state has twelve representatives and two senators, your state would have a total of fourteen electors. If in the election, candidate X defeats candidate Y, even if it is by just one vote, candidate X will receive all fourteen electoral votes from your state. It is therefore possible for a president to be elected without having the most popular votes, although that is a rare possibility.
None. The president of the U.S. (I presume that is the election you mean) is elected by the electoral college, period. If they can't reach a majority, it is decided by congress. See the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.