Barack Obama won re-election in 2012 by earning 332 electoral votes and 62.6 million popular votes, compared to Mitt Romney's 206 electoral votes and 59.1 million popular votes. Voter turnout was low across the country, with Hawaii, West Virginia, New York, Oklahoma and Texas setting records. Republicans gained some governorships but Democrats still held the majority. Control of the House and Senate remained unchanged. Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Hampshire and Virginia voted Democratic while Colorado, North Carolina and Florida voted Republican.

1. 2012 Election Results
JORDAN OHNMEIS, ELISSA OLIVEIRA, DAVID
WAINSCOTT

2. Presidential election results
 332 Electoral college votes went for Barack Obama
(62,611,250 Popular Votes)
 206 went to Mitt Romney
(59,134,475 Popular Votes)

3. Election map

4. Mandate
-Give (someone) authority to act in a certain way
 Given the result of the election (Obama winning),
Obama was given a Mandate by the public. i.e. The
people have given him authority to act as president.

5. Voter turnout
 Voter turnout in several states (Hawaii, West
Virginia, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas) actually
set new records for lowest voter turnout in this
election – contrasting 2004 and 2008’s recent
upsurge of voting around the country. The trend of
low voting numbers was characteristic across the
country.

6. Gubernatorial elections
-Election of a governor by the state.
 12 held in 2012
 Rupublicans won 5
 Democrats won 7
 Republicans won one away from democrats, bringing
the totals higher in their favor.

7. 2012 House elections
 D. Blue: Dems held. L. Blue: Dems took D. Red:
Repub held. L. Red: Repub took

8. 2012 Senate election
 D. Yellow: Ind hold L. Yellow: Ind Take

9. Swing states
 OH, IO, WI, NV, NH, and VA went dem.
 CO, NC, and FL went Repub.

10. Coattail effect
 The coattail effect is the tendency for a popular
political party leader to attract votes for other
candidates of the same party in an election. For
example, in the United States, the party of a
victorious presidential candidate will often win many
seats in Congress as well; these congressmen are
voted into office “on the coattails” of the president.
(Wikipedia)
 Very little was seen in 2012. Lots of split-ticket
voting occurred.

11. Questions
 What is a mandate?
A. A written demand
B. Governmental request for action on a bill
C. Giving someone authority to act in some way

12. Questions (cont.)
 How did Obama’s popular vote change from 2008 to
2012?
A. 2012 was higher
B. 2008 was higher

13. Questions (cont.)
 Which two states had record low voting turnouts?
A. Hawaii
B. Alaska
C. New York
D. Ohio

14. Questions (cont.)
 How many Gubernatorial elections were held in
2012?
A. 9
B. 10
C. 12
D. 15

15. Questions (cont.)
 Which of the following is a swing state?
A. Colorado
B. California
C. Texas
D. Maine