alternatehistory.com

A scenario I dreamed up one night and was curious as to how it might effect United States Presidential history, but what if during an election, if neither candidate receives the majority of a state's percentage in the vote, that state's electoral votes are split between the two most popular candidates.

For example, in 1976 Jimmy Carter won 48% of Ohio's vote, and took the whole state as a result (25 EVS), despite this not being a majority. Under the provision I laid out, instead of Jimmy Carter taking all twenty-five (because he didn't surpass 50% OTL), he receives 12 electoral votes, and Ford receives 12, with perhaps the extra electoral vote either tossed aside or given to Carter since he had the higher percentage of the two. How would this have changed voting in the US, and which Presidents would have been affected the most by it?

(This is in Before 1900 because this POD assumes the Electoral College was created with this provision in place).
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