Election bellwether counties in the United States are counties that vote in alignment with the country as a whole in United States presidential elections, so that the county votes for the candidate who ultimately wins the election. The strongest bellwether counties are those that back the winning candidate in all elections. There are a total of 3,142 counties or county equivalents in the United States.[1]
The following county is the only county to have voted for the winner of the presidential election in every election starting in 1980:
The following 43 counties have deviated from the winner of the presidential election in one election since 1980 (no current bellwethers deviated from the winner in ONLY 1980, 1984, 1996 or 2008, although some deviated in one of those plus another election):[3][4]
The following 111 counties have deviated from the winner of the presidential election in two elections since 1980:[3]