A simple majority of the 538 Electoral Votes is 270. And 270 is the accurate number for a simple majority of 538 Electoral Votes. But in 1960, that winning number was 269 (a simple majority of 537). And if by some fluke, a state fails to cast its votes, the winning majority would be a simple majority of the votes cast. (In the 2000 election, this became an important issue. As Florida delayed certifying a final result, the possibility that there would be no definitive result in the state by the time the Electoral College was scheduled to convene entered the discussion. If Florida could not cast its 25 votes, the winning number would be 257.) The authority for this is the 12th Amendment to the Constitution: "The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed. . ."
A plurality alone does not give a Presidential candidate a victory in the Electoral College.
Copyright © 2001 by Richard Warren Field