How does the number of electoral votes determine who wins?
The number of electors for each state is equal to the number of U.S. Senators and Representatives in the state’s delegation. To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a minimum of 270 electoral votes. What does “winner takes all” mean with electoral votes? “Winner takes all” is implemented in all but two states: Nebraska and Maine.
Which state has the least electoral votes?
However, even all these populous states combined cannot win an election under the electoral college system. The states with the least number of electors include Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming with one elector for each of its congressional representatives. Additionally, D.C. is given three electors.
How many electoral votes does a candidate need to win?
These electors then vote for the president based off of voting in their state. Including 3 votes for Washington DC, there are 538 electoral votes. Candidates need 270 to win. If there is tie, the house will vote on who becomes president and the senate on vice president
Who are the electors and how are they chosen?
What are electors and how are they chosen? Generally, the parties either nominate slates of potential electors at their State party conventions or they chose them by a vote of the party’s central committee. This happens in each State for each party by whatever rules the State party and (sometimes) the national party have for the process.
How many electoral votes does every state have?
Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its members in the U. S. House of Representatives. Therefore, every state has at least three electoral votes because even the smallest states have one representative and two senators.
Which state has the most electoral votes?
Currently, the state with the largest number of electoral votes is California with 55. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration also offers a frequently asked question page with links such as the ones below: Cite this Article. Format.
What is the meaning of the electoral college?
The number of electors in the Electoral College is established in the United States Constitution. First, within the context of the Constitution, the meaning of college, as in the Electoral College, does not mean a school, but of a group of people organized toward a common goal. The Electoral College was set up in the Constitution as ...
Why is the number of representatives reapportioned after the census?
After the Census, the number of representatives is reapportioned to reflect any changes in population. That can mean the number of electors each state can vary in different presidential elections. Because of the 23 Amendment, the District of Columbia is treated as a state and allocated three electors for purposes of the Electoral College.
What amendments expanded voting rights?
The 12th Amendment expanded voting rights. The result was that the use of the popular vote in the States as the vehicle for selecting electors changed radically. According to the Constitution, the Founding Fathers determined that every state should be given votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S.
Is there a law that requires the electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their
There is no law that requires the Electors in the Electoral College to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their states. These decisions are made by each state where restrictions fall into two categories—Electors that are bound by state law and those that are bound by pledges to political parties.
How are electoral votes allocated?
Electoral votes are allocated among the States based on the Census. Every State is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U.S. Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts.
How many electors does the District of Columbia have?
Under the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution, the District of Columbia is allocated three electors and treated like a State for purposes of the Electoral College. Each State (which includes the District of Columbia for this discussion) decides how to appoint its electors.
Which states have a winner take all policy?
All States, except for Maine and Nebraska have a winner-take-all policy where the State looks only at the overall winner of the state-wide popular vote. Maine and Nebraska, however, appoint individual electors based on the winner of the popular vote for each Congressional district and then 2 electors based on the winner ...
How are electors chosen?
In a smaller number of states, electors are chosen by a vote of the state party’s central committee. Either way, political parties usually choose people whom ...
Who is responsible for electing the electors?
State legislatures are responsible for choosing electors, but how they do this varies from state to state. Until the mid-1800s, it was common for many state legislatures to simply appoint electors, while other states let their citizens decide on electors. Today, the most common method of choosing electors is by state party convention.
What was the result of the electoral college?
The result of this struggle was the Electoral College, the system by which the American people vote not for president and vice president, but for a smaller group of people, known as electors. These electors then cast their votes directly for president and vice president, at a meeting held several weeks after the general election.
What was the main debate at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 argued over a lot of things, but one of their biggest debates was over how the United States should elect its president. Some among the Founding Fathers believed that direct nationwide election by the people would be the most democratic method. Others argued that a straightforward popular vote was ...
Which states have a district system?
Maine and Nebraska have a “district system.”. They appoint electors depending on who won the popular vote in each congressional district, plus two electors who are pledged to vote for the overall winner of the state’s popular vote.
Can an elector be a member of Congress?
Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis/Getty Images. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution states that electors can’t be a member of Congress, or hold federal office, but left it up to individual states to figure out everything else.
Does the Constitution require that electors vote according to the results of the popular vote?
The Constitution doesn’t require electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their states, and there is no federal law that requires this. But a number of states have passed laws that threaten to punish so-called “faithless electors,” who do not vote according to the state’s popular vote.
Which state has the most electoral votes?
Generally, states that are home to more people control more electoral votes. California — the largest state by population — has 55 electoral votes, while Wyoming — the smallest — has the minimum allocation of three.
How does total population affect electoral votes?
Total population helps determine how electoral votes are allocated, but eligible voters determine how the votes are cast. These examples demonstrate electoral representation based on each state’s share of the national population, and that’s because states receive representation in both the House of Representatives and the Electoral College ...
How many electoral votes will be in 2020?
The 2020 election will be the last of the decade before electoral votes are reallocated based on Census results. See how the current distribution of the nation’s 538 electoral votes compares to the number of people living in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
How many votes are underrepresented in California?
For example, California makes up 12.1% of the total US population but 11% of the citizen voting-age population; so by total population share, the state is about 10 votes underrepresented in the Electoral College, but by its share of eligible voters, the difference is closer to four votes.
How many votes do you need to win a race?
A candidate needs a majority of 270 electoral votes to win each race. In this system, known as the Electoral College, each state gets the same number of electors as it has members of Congress — one for each member in the House of Representatives and one for each of the state’s two senators.
What is 10 votes?
For context, 10 votes is equivalent to the entire electoral share assigned to states like Maryland, Minnesota, and Missouri. It’s also the same as the combined vote shares of Iowa and Maine, or of all three states of Montana, Delaware, and Idaho.
Which states are underrepresented by fewer votes?
In particular, the two most populous states — California and Texas — are underrepresented by fewer votes when looking at representation among the voting-eligible population instead of the total resident population.
Allocation Among The States
- Electoral votes are allocated among the States based on the Census. Every State is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U.S. Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts. Under the 23rd Amendment of t...
Allocation Within Each State
- All States, except for Maine and Nebraska have a winner-take-all policy where the State looks only at the overall winner of the state-wide popular vote. Maine and Nebraska, however, appoint individual electors based on the winner of the popular vote for each Congressional district and then 2 electors based on the winner of the overall state-wide popular vote. Even though Maine a…
Current Allocations
- The allocations below are based on the 2010 Census. They are effective for the 2012, 2016, and 2020presidential elections. Total Electoral Votes: 538; Majority Needed to Elect:270