The Madison-Jefferson letters presaged the 1824 election which, thrown to the House, resulted in the election of John Quincy Adams, even though Andrew Jackson had won both the Electoral College.

Explore the Electoral College, a system that elects the U.S. president. Learn about its history, ... such as the 1800 election where slave owner Thomas Jefferson defeated anti-slavery advocate ...

Thanks to the Electoral College, that has happened five times in the country’s history. ... After just two elections, in 1796 and 1800, problems with this system had become obvious.

The Electoral College meeting occurs on the Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December, which was December 17 in 2024. Each state’s electors meet in their state and cast their votes.

All that counts is our ancient electoral college system, rooted in the Founders’ appeasement of Southern slave states. It’s beneficial, however, that Trump apparently also won the popular vote.