How many electoral college votes does each state in the US have?
US electoral college votes by state (Canva)
As polls close in the 2024 US presidential election, voters will be eagerly anticipating the outcome by looking at who wins the electoral college votes in various safe and swing states. But what are they and why do they matter?
The 2024 presidential election, which was held on Tuesday (5 November) saw former president Donald Trump face off against current Democrat vice president Kamala Harris for a place in the White House.
The election cycle leading up to voting day has been divisive and controversial, resulting in the tightest race in decades with political analysts unable to predict an outcome.
What is the electoral college?
In the United States, it is not the popular vote (the total number of votes cast) which decides who is president but electoral college votes – making it more so a state-by-state race than a national race.
The electoral college refers to the number of electors in each state, with the number of electoral college votes every state gets being equal to the number of senators and representatives in Congress it has.
All states have at least three electoral college votes, with states that have larger populations having more votes than ones with smaller populations. For example, California which has a population of 38.97 million has 54 votes in the electoral college whilst Vermont, with a population of just 647,464, has only three.
In total there are 538 electoral college votes up for grabs and a candidate needs a majority of 270 to win the presidency.
A number of key battleground states with play a key role in the election and deciding who becomes president. These are: Pennsylvania, which has 19 votes, North Carolina and Georgia, both with 16, followed by Michigan with 15, Arizona has 11, Wisconsin has 10 and Nevada has 6.
How many electoral college votes are there?
As previously mentioned, there was 538 electoral college votes in total.
The full list:
Alabama 9
Alaska 3
Arizona 11
Arkansas 6
California 54
Colorado 10
Connecticut 7
Delaware 3
District of Columbia 3
Florida 30
Georgia 16
Hawaii 4
Idaho 4
Illinois 19
Indiana 11
Iowa 6
Kansas 6
Kentucky 8
Louisiana 8
Maine 4
Maryland 10
Massachusetts 11
Michigan 15
Minnesota 10
Mississippi 6
Missouri 10
Montana 4
Nebraska 5
Nevada 6
New Hampshire 4
New Jersey 14
New Mexico 5
New York 28
North Carolina 16
North Dakota 3
Ohio 17
Oklahoma 7
Oregon 8
Pennsylvania 19
Rhode Island 4
South Carolina 9
South Dakota 3
Tennessee 11
Texas 40
Utah 6
Vermont 3
Virginia 13
Washington 12
West Virginia 4
Wisconsin 10
Wyoming 3
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