A record number of Americans have voted early in the 2024 presidential electionand millions more are expected to vote before polls close in every state on Election Day. But as we are reminded every four years, it is not the popular vote that decides who wins the presidency, but the result of the electoral college.
There are 538 votes in the Electoral College and you need a majority – 270 – to win. In most states, it is a winner-takes-all system – whichever candidate comes out on top, regardless of the margin, gets all of the state’s electoral college votes. Only two states, Maine and Nebraskaallow their electoral votes to be divided.
The race between former Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will likely come down to a handful of Battlefield States where voters are narrowly divided. Of these, Pennsylvania has the most electoral votes at stake, with 19, followed by North Carolina and Georgia with 16 each, Michigan with 15, Arizona with 11, Wisconsin with 10, and Nevada with 6.
How many electoral college votes does each state have?
The number of Electoral College votes received by each state is equal to the total number of U.S. senators and representatives in Congress. This means that each state receives at least three, while more populous states receive more. The District of Columbia also gets three, although it has no voting members of Congress.
States can gain or lose electoral votes as populations change. In the congressional redistricting that followed the 2020 U.S. Census, six states gained at least one additional House seat — and thus one additional electoral vote — while seven states lost one.
Which state has the most electoral votes?
California, the nation’s most populous state, has 54 electoral votes. With a population of more than 39.5 million, according to the 2020 census, that means California has one voter for every 732,189 residents.
Texas comes next, with 40 electoral votes, followed by Florida with 30 and New York with 28.
Which state has the fewest electoral votes?
The six most populous states each have three electoral votes: Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. Washington, D.C., also gets three. In Wyoming, which has the nation’s smallest population of about 576,850, that equates to one voter for every 182,283 residents.
Which state received the most electoral votes?
Texas gained two electoral votes in 2024, giving it a total of 40 in this year’s presidential race, up from 38 in the 2020 election.
Five other states – Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon – each received one electoral vote.
Which state lost the most electoral votes?
Seven states lost an electoral vote in 2024: California, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The map below shows all states that gained or lost Electoral College votes for the 2024 elections.
