Electoral College Votes by Presidential Election [USA]

chart_usa_electoral_college.r

library(ggplot2)
library(dplyr)
library(readr)

sf <- 2
width <- 600 * sf
height <- 335 * sf

options(vsc.dev.args = list(width = width, height = height, res = 72 * sf))

# Electoral College data (1976-2020)
ec_data <- data.frame(
  year = c(
    1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024
  ),
  dem_ec = c(
    297, 49, 13, 111,
    370, 379, 266, 251,
    365, 332, 227, 306, 226
  ),
  rep_ec = c(
    240, 489, 525, 426,
    168, 159, 271, 286,
    173, 206, 304, 232, 312
  )
)

# Plot Electoral College votes
chart <- ggplot(ec_data, aes(x = year)) +
  geom_line(aes(y = dem_ec, color = "Democratic"), size = 1.2) +
  geom_line(aes(y = rep_ec, color = "Republican"), size = 1.2) +
  geom_point(aes(y = dem_ec, color = "Democratic"), size = 3) +
  geom_point(aes(y = rep_ec, color = "Republican"), size = 3) +
  geom_hline(yintercept = 270, linetype = "dashed", color = "black", size = 1) +
  labs(
    title = "Electoral College Votes by Presidential Election [USA]",
    subtitle = "Source: DDHQ, Wikipedia · @USMortality",
    x = "Year", y = "Electoral College Votes",
    color = "Party"
  ) +
  scale_color_manual(values = c("Democratic" = "blue", "Republican" = "red")) +
  scale_y_continuous(labels = scales::comma, limits = c(0, 550)) +
  theme_bw()

ggsave(
  filename = "chart1.png", plot = chart, width = width, height = height,
  units = "px", dpi = 72 * sf, device = grDevices::png, type = "cairo"
)