The Closest Elections in History

Several elections came down to a hairsbreadth. In 1880 Garfield beat Hancock by about 0.09 percent of the popular vote. In 2000 the official Florida margin was 537 votes.

Kennedy beat Nixon in 1960 by roughly 112,000 votes nationwide. In 1916 Wilson won California, and the presidency, by under 4,000 votes, and in 1836 a single faithless Virginia elector sent the vice presidency to the Senate. Elsewhere, New York decided 1884 by about 1,100 votes.

Close results remind voters that turnout of a single precinct can redirect a nation..