[stylin19a]

who does the electoral count belong to ? the incoming or the outgoing congress ?
in either case:

how does 1960 change ? 269 electoral votes were needed to win.
The RATS won 263 House seats in 1960. - only 6 votes needed from the Senate electorals.
The RATS won 283 House seats in 1958. - no votes needed outside the House electorals.

How does 1976 change ? 270 electoral votes were needed to win.
The RATS won 292 House seats in 1976. no votes needed outside the House.
The RATS won 291 House seats in 1974. no votes needed outside the House.

what am I missing ?

[Publius]

You are assuming that everybody who voted for a congressman of one party voted for the presidential candidate of the same party. You're ignoring ticket splitting.

Look at the popular vote in the congressional districts and in the states instead.

[reed13k]

Your missing the fact that in some cases the congressional winner and presidential winners in a district split.

[grey_whiskers]

Whether or not people voted across party lines for Senate /House /President;
also, Senate and President are Statewide, but Congress is district by district. One heavily populated district may only contribute one Congresscritter, but add heavily to Pres vie totals in a state.

[grey_whiskers]

Whether or not people voted across party lines for Senate /House /President;
also, Senate and President are Statewide, but Congress is district by district. One heavily populated district may only contribute one Congresscritter, but add heavily to Pres vie totals in a state.