Bush leads in popular vote

2004-11-03 10:19

Washington - US President George W Bush was leading Senator John Kerry by more than two million popular votes, but the outcome of American elections is decided in the Electoral College.

With 82 per cent of nationwide precincts reporting, Bush had 51.4 per cent of the vote, compared to Kerry's 47.8 per cent, according to ABC News.

Bush won the White House in 2000 despite losing the popular vote. Al Gore won 48.3 per cent of the vote, while Bush captured 47.8 per cent of the ballots.

In the United States however, the final outcome is determined by winning individual states and compiling their electoral votes. Each state is assigned a different value based on its population.

A candidate must win 270 electoral votes to prevail. Below is the complete ABC News tally of the popular vote:

George W Bush (Republican) 50 977 271 51.4 per cent; John Kerry (Democrat) 47 401 540 47.8 per cent; Ralph Nader (Independent) 349 949 0.4 per cent. Percent Reporting: 82 per cent

Electoral college: George W. Bush (Republican) 249 or 269*; John Kerry (Democrat) 211.

- SAPA