text: A dispute over the outcome of an Electoral College vote is possible-it happened in 200-but its less likely than a dispute over the popular vote. Winning candidate's share the Electoral College invariably exceeds his share of the popular vote. For example,Obama recieved 61.7 percent of the electoral vote compared to only 51.3 percent of the popular vote cast for him and Romney.... Because almost all states award electoral votes on a winner- take-all basis. A nationwide electoral vote is possible because 538 is a even number, but its  highly unlikely. The winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes induces the candidates-as we saw in 2012's election to focus more on toss-up states. As the people of these states are very thoughtful in deciding who they will pick because they are the people that pay close attention to the campaing.