Post by Emerald City on Nov 5, 2004 20:39:46 GMT -5
WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush won re-election with 286 electoral votes while Democratic challenger John Kerry amassed 252 electoral votes, according to a final tally compiled after the midwestern state of Iowa fell into the Bush column.
Results from a tight presidential race in Iowa had been delayed since Tuesday's vote while the ballots were counted. Bush won the state by 14,000 votes according to results obtained Friday from the Iowa secretary of state's office.
Iowa's seven electoral votes boosted Bush's final tally in the 538-member Electoral College to 286. A total of 270 was needed for election and Bush crossed the barrier on Wednesday when Kerry conceded the state of Ohio and its 20 electoral votes.
Bush won 31 states in Tuesday's election while Kerry won 19 states and the nation's capital, Washington, DC.
Only three states changed hands compared to the 2000 race between Bush and Democrat Al Gore. The northeastern state of New Hampshire, won by Bush in 2000, went to Kerry while Iowa and New Mexico, two states won by Gore in 2000, went for Bush.
Bush won 51 percent of the popular vote, or 59.45 million votes, while Kerry won 48 percent of the national vote, or 55.94 percent. Independent candidate Ralph Nader won slightly more than 400,000 voters or 0.3 percent.
The president of the United States is not elected directly by popular vote but by the 538 members of the Electoral College.
Voters casting their ballots in a US presidential election are actually voting for members of the Electoral College known as electors.
The electors, generally party leaders nominated at the state level, will meet in state capitals on December 13 to cast their ballots for president based on the results of the popular vote in their state.
With two exceptions -- Maine and Nebraska -- the winner of the popular vote in a state receives all of the state's electoral votes.
After they meet on December 13, the Electoral College members will submit their votes under seal to the US Congress, where they will be officially reviewed on January 6.
Bush will be inaugurated for a second term on January 20.
