Jimmy Carter won the popular vote with 50.0% (40,825,839 votes), ahead of Gerald Ford with 48.0% (39,145,771 votes). Presidents are chosen by the Electoral College, so the popular vote winner is not always the winner of the election.
The margin between the first two candidates was 2.1 percentage points (1,680,068 votes). The party margin (Republican share minus Democratic share) was a Democratic lead of 2.1 points.
81,601,344 votes were counted in this race, for 13 candidates or options.
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