Each U.S. state is allocated a number of Electoral College votes equal to the total of its U.S. Senators (always 2 per state) plus its U.S. Representatives, which varies based on population. Therefore, every state has at least 3 electoral votes. The District of Columbia also has 3 electoral votes despite having no voting members in Congress
. Here are some key examples of electoral vote counts for the 2024 presidential election:
- California: 54 votes (most populous state)
- Texas: 40 votes
- Florida: 30 votes
- New York: 28 votes
- Pennsylvania and Illinois: 19 votes each
- Ohio: 17 votes
- Georgia and North Carolina: 16 votes each
- Michigan: 15 votes
- New Jersey: 14 votes
- Virginia: 13 votes
- Washington: 12 votes
- Arizona, Indiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee: 11 votes each
- Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin: 10 votes each
- Alabama, South Carolina: 9 votes each
- Kentucky, Louisiana, Oregon: 8 votes each
- Connecticut, Oklahoma: 7 votes each
- Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah: 6 votes each
- Nebraska, New Mexico: 5 votes each
- Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, West Virginia: 4 votes each
- Alaska, Delaware, District of Columbia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming: 3 votes each (smallest populations)
Some states gained or lost electoral votes after the 2020 Census reapportionment. For example, Texas gained 2 votes (now 40), while California lost 1 vote (now 54)
. In summary, the number of electoral votes per state is based on its congressional representation: 2 senators plus a variable number of representatives determined by population. This results in a range from 3 votes for the least populous states to 54 votes for California, the most populous
