In the United States presidential election, a candidate needs to win a majority of electoral votes in order to become president. This means they need to win at least 270 out of the 538 total electoral votes up for grabs.
What are Electoral Votes?
The United States uses the Electoral College system to elect the president and vice president every four years. Under this system, each state is allotted a certain number of electors based on its representation in Congress. In total there are 538 electors.
When citizens vote in the presidential election, they are technically voting for a slate of electors pledged to that candidate, not the candidate themselves. Whichever candidate wins the popular vote in a state, their pledged electors will then cast electoral votes for that candidate when the Electoral College meets.
The number of electoral votes each state gets is equal to its number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives plus its two U.S. Senators. The District of Columbia is also allotted 3 electoral votes, even though it doesn’t have voting representation in Congress.
For example, California has 53 House districts and 2 Senators, so it gets 55 electoral votes. Smaller states like Delaware and Alaska get the minimum of 3 electoral votes – 2 for their Senators and 1 for their single House member.
How Electoral Votes Are Distributed
Currently there are 538 total electoral votes, based on 435 Representatives, 100 Senators, and 3 votes given to Washington D.C. Each state’s number of electoral votes is determined after the decennial census, when House seats are reapportioned to reflect changes in population.
With two exceptions, states allocate all their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the state’s popular vote. This is called the winner-take-all approach. For example if a candidate wins 50.1% of the vote in Texas, they get all 38 of Texas’ electoral votes.
The two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which use the district method. Their electoral votes are awarded based on who wins each congressional district, with the statewide winner taking the two additional votes for the state’s Senators.
Electoral Vote Distribution by State
| State | Electoral Votes |
|---|---|
| California | 55 |
| Texas | 38 |
| New York | 29 |
| Florida | 29 |
| Illinois | 20 |
| Pennsylvania | 20 |
| Ohio | 18 |
| Georgia | 16 |
| Michigan | 16 |
| North Carolina | 15 |
| New Jersey | 14 |
| Virginia | 13 |
| Washington | 12 |
| Arizona | 11 |
| Massachusetts | 11 |
| Tennessee | 11 |
| Indiana | 11 |
| Maryland | 10 |
| Minnesota | 10 |
| Missouri | 10 |
| Wisconsin | 10 |
| Colorado | 9 |
| Alabama | 9 |
| South Carolina | 9 |
| Louisiana | 8 |
| Kentucky | 8 |
| Oregon | 7 |
| Oklahoma | 7 |
| Connecticut | 7 |
| Iowa | 6 |
| Mississippi | 6 |
| Kansas | 6 |
| Arkansas | 6 |
| Utah | 6 |
| Nevada | 6 |
| New Mexico | 5 |
| West Virginia | 5 |
| Nebraska | 5 |
| Idaho | 4 |
| Hawaii | 4 |
| New Hampshire | 4 |
| Maine | 4 |
| Rhode Island | 4 |
| Montana | 3 |
| Delaware | 3 |
| South Dakota | 3 |
| Alaska | 3 |
| North Dakota | 3 |
| Vermont | 3 |
| Wyoming | 3 |
| District of Columbia | 3 |
| Total | 538 |
How Many Electoral Votes Are Needed to Win?
To win the presidency, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the 538 electoral votes. This means they need to win 270 electoral votes minimum.
It is possible for no candidate to reach 270 votes. In that case, the election would be decided by the House of Representatives, with each state delegation getting one vote. This has happened twice before in 1800 and 1824.
Reaching the 270 vote threshold can be achieved through many different combinations of states. For example, winning states like California and New York gives a candidate a huge electoral vote advantage. But a candidate could also get to 270 by winning a combination of smaller states across different regions.
In recent decades, states like Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio have been key battleground states that candidates fight hard to win on their path to 270 electoral votes.
Paths to 270 Electoral Votes
Here are a few hypothetical scenarios showing how a candidate could reach 270 electoral votes:
- Winning Florida (29), Pennsylvania (20), Michigan (16), Wisconsin (10), Arizona (11), North Carolina (15) = 101 electoral votes
- Winning Texas (38), New York (29), Illinois (20), New Jersey (14), Virginia (13) = 114 electoral votes
- Winning California (55), Ohio (18), Georgia (16), Massachusetts (11), Minnesota (10), Maryland (10) = 120 electoral votes
As you can see, many combinations of states can add up to the magic number of 270. Candidates will try to plot the best path through swing states to get there.
Historical Perspective
In recent elections, the electoral vote winner has also won the popular vote nationwide. But this is not always the case historically.
There have been five elections where the electoral vote winner did not receive the most overall individual votes. This occurred in 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016.
In those cases, the candidate who won more states ended up with the majority of electoral votes, even if more individual voters nationwide preferred their opponent. This is a quirk of the Electoral College system.
The candidate who has won the most individual votes nationwide has lost the election three times. This happened to Andrew Jackson in 1824, Samuel Tilden in 1876, and Grover Cleveland in 1888.
Popular Vote vs Electoral Vote
| Election Year | Popular Vote Winner | Electoral Vote Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1824 | Andrew Jackson | John Quincy Adams |
| 1876 | Samuel Tilden | Rutherford B. Hayes |
| 1888 | Grover Cleveland | Benjamin Harrison |
| 2000 | Al Gore | George W. Bush |
| 2016 | Hillary Clinton | Donald Trump |
This mismatch between the electoral and popular vote highlights debates about the Electoral College system and whether the popular vote should determine the winner instead. Most proposed constitutional amendments to abolish the Electoral College have not passed Congress.
Conclusion
In summary, a candidate needs 270 out of 538 total electoral votes to win the U.S. presidential election. Electoral votes are allotted to each state based on their number of representatives in Congress. Most states award all their electoral votes to whoever wins the state popular vote.
There are many potential combinations of states that could lead a candidate to cross the 270 vote threshold. Swing states are often critical in determining the winner. On a few occasions in history, the electoral vote winner has not aligned with the national popular vote winner – fueling debate about the Electoral College system.
