Every vote should be equal: Donald Trump became President in 2016 even though he lost the national popular vote by 2,868,518 votes. Trump won in the Electoral College because he carried Michigan by 11,000 votes, Wisconsin by 23,000 votes, and Pennsylvania by 44,000 votes. Each of the 78,000 votes in these three states was 36 times more important than the 2,868,518 votes cast elsewhere.