Stubborn numbers: how much of a say does the nation have in presidential elections?

Abstract

Both a President and a Vice President are elected either by the Electoral College or by Congress, and only electoral votes received by presidential and vice presidential candidates from all presidential electors matter. Yet, since the 1824 election, the national popular vote count has been conducted in every election. Despite the fact that the national popular vote does not have any constitutional status, it is widely believed that the popular vote winner receives a mandate from the nation to govern. So whenever the electoral vote outcome and the popular vote outcome are different, the nation turns to election rules, and calls emerge to abolish the Electoral College and to replace it with direct popular elections.