ELECTORAL VOTES 4

2008 ELECTION Likely Obama

ABOUT
MAINE

Maine entered the Union in March 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise. No state outside the original 13 colonies has started with more electoral votes – it had nine in the 1820 election. But by the mid-19th century, Maine began losing electoral votes, and has had four since the 1964 election. Primarily Republican from the Civil War (going “blue” only in 1912, 1964, and 1968) through the 1980s, Maine has voted Democratic in the last four elections, with John Kerry winning by nine percent over George Bush in 2004. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states to not use the “all-or-nothing” approach to awarding electoral votes. The winner of the popular vote gets two electoral votes, while one is assigned to the winner of each of Maine’s two congressional districts. This approach was established beginning with the 1972 election, although it has never yet resulted in a split electoral vote.