Doesn’t the Electoral College prevent third-party candidates winning with a low share of the popular vote?
The Electoral College has a neutral impact on third party candidates. The Electoral College is not the reason why third party candidates and independents have such low odds in presidential elections: rather it is because only one candidate wins, which favors candidates who can draw on large numbers of votes. Today, every sitting governor is a member of a major party, and in nearly 1,000 gubernatorial elections in all 50 states since World War II, no governor has won with less than 35% of the vote. In 1992, Ross Perot did not win any electoral votes despite earning 19% of the national popular vote, but he would have easily won the presidency and a majority in the Electoral College by doubling his share of the national vote to 38%.
