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How did George W. Bush win the Electoral College while Al Gore won the popular vote?

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U.S. presidential election of 2000 — Bush v. Gore A Florida judge examining a challenged vote at an operations center in Plantation, Florida, during a recount of the state's U.S. presidential election ballots, 2000.

In the United States presidential election of 2000, George W. Bush won the presidency by securing a majority in the Electoral College, despite Al Gore receiving more votes nationwide.12

This outcome occurred because the U.S. presidential election is decided by the Electoral College rather than the national popular vote. Under this system, candidates compete to win individual states, which are allotted a specific number of electoral votes based on their congressional representation. In nearly all states, the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote is awarded all of that state's electoral votes.3

The 2000 election hinged on Florida and its 25 electoral votes. Following a highly contested vote count, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision in Bush v. Gore that halted a manual recount of ballots in the state. This ruling effectively awarded Florida’s electoral votes to Bush, giving him a total of 271—one more than the 270 required for victory—while Gore finished with 266. Consequently, Bush won the presidency while losing the national popular vote by approximately 500,000 votes.42516