Electoral College

US Electoral College Map

State-by-state results, historical comparisons and a full explanation of how 538 electoral votes decide the American presidency.

538
Total electors
270
Needed to win
312
Trump 2024 EVs
50
States + DC
Congressional hearing hall with microphones, Washington DC

2024 Presidential Election Result

Winner
312
Donald Trump
Republican — Popular vote 49.8%
Defeated
226
Kamala Harris
Democrat — Popular vote 48.4%

Trump won all seven major swing states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina — to surpass the 270 electoral vote threshold. He also became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the national popular vote since George W. Bush in 2004.

All 50 States + DC — 2024 Electoral Votes

All 50 states and Washington DC, sorted by electoral vote count. Margin shows percentage-point difference between the winner and runner-up.

State EV 2024 Winner Margin
California54Harris (D)+21.1
Texas40Trump (R)+14.2
Florida30Trump (R)+13.2
New York28Harris (D)+13.9
Illinois19Harris (D)+17.0
Pennsylvania19Trump (R)+1.8
Ohio17Trump (R)+11.5
Georgia16Trump (R)+2.2
North Carolina16Trump (R)+3.2
Michigan15Trump (R)+1.4
New Jersey14Harris (D)+6.3
Virginia13Harris (D)+7.2
Washington12Harris (D)+18.9
Arizona11Trump (R)+5.5
Massachusetts11Harris (D)+27.7
Minnesota10Harris (D)+3.0
Tennessee11Trump (R)+29.2
Wisconsin10Trump (R)+0.9
Indiana11Trump (R)+21.5
Missouri10Trump (R)+18.5
Maryland10Harris (D)+28.0
Colorado10Harris (D)+11.2
Alabama9Trump (R)+27.9
South Carolina9Trump (R)+13.0
Kentucky8Trump (R)+26.5
Louisiana8Trump (R)+20.5
Oregon8Harris (D)+13.8
Connecticut7Harris (D)+17.7
Oklahoma7Trump (R)+33.2
Arkansas6Trump (R)+28.1
Iowa6Trump (R)+13.4
Kansas6Trump (R)+19.9
Mississippi6Trump (R)+16.9
Nevada6Trump (R)+3.1
Utah6Trump (R)+13.0
Nebraska5Trump (R)+22.0
New Mexico5Harris (D)+6.2
West Virginia4Trump (R)+38.1
Hawaii4Harris (D)+28.2
Idaho4Trump (R)+32.5
New Hampshire4Harris (D)+2.2
Maine4Harris (D)+7.0
Rhode Island4Harris (D)+19.2
Montana4Trump (R)+21.0
Delaware3Harris (D)+13.2
North Dakota3Trump (R)+35.4
South Dakota3Trump (R)+27.8
Alaska3Trump (R)+13.9
Vermont3Harris (D)+35.7
Wyoming3Trump (R)+43.1
Washington DC3Harris (D)+76.9

Note: Nebraska and Maine allocate some electoral votes by congressional district. Nebraska's 2nd district (Omaha) awarded 1 EV to Harris; Maine's 2nd district awarded 1 EV to Trump. Totals above reflect final certified results.

Historical Electoral College Results

2024 — Republican

Trump vs. Harris

Trump 312 EV Harris 226 EV
Popular vote: Trump 49.8% — Harris 48.4%
2020 — Democrat

Biden vs. Trump

Biden 306 EV Trump 232 EV
Popular vote: Biden 51.3% — Trump 46.9%
2016 — Republican

Trump vs. Clinton

Trump 306 EV Clinton 232 EV
Popular vote: Clinton 48.2% — Trump 46.1%
2012 — Democrat

Obama vs. Romney

Obama 332 EV Romney 206 EV
Popular vote: Obama 51.1% — Romney 47.2%
2008 — Democrat

Obama vs. McCain

Obama 365 EV McCain 173 EV
Popular vote: Obama 52.9% — McCain 45.7%
2004 — Republican

Bush vs. Kerry

Bush 286 EV Kerry 251 EV
Popular vote: Bush 50.7% — Kerry 48.3%

How the Electoral College Works

Senate chamber vote in Washington DC

The Basic Rules

The United States does not elect its president by direct national popular vote. Instead, voters in each state choose a slate of electors who then cast the official votes for president. This system was established by Article II of the Constitution and has been modified by the 12th and 23rd Amendments.

There are 538 total electors — one for each of the 435 House members, 100 senators, and 3 for Washington DC (added by the 23rd Amendment in 1961). A candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes to become president.

How States Allocate EVs

Each state receives electoral votes equal to its total congressional delegation. California, the most populous state, has 54 electoral votes (52 House seats + 2 senators). Wyoming, the least populous, has 3 (1 House + 2 senators).

48 states and DC use a winner-takes-all system: the candidate with the most votes in that state wins all of its electoral votes. Maine and Nebraska use a congressional district method and can split their electoral votes between candidates.

The Swing State Effect

Because most states reliably vote for one party, presidential campaigns focus almost entirely on the 7–10 genuinely competitive states. In 2024, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin received the vast majority of campaign spending and candidate visits.

Popular Vote vs. Electoral Vote

Five times in US history, the Electoral College winner did not win the national popular vote: 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 (Bush over Gore) and 2016 (Trump over Clinton). In 2024, Trump won both the electoral vote and the popular vote, winning 49.8% nationally.

The 7 Swing States That Decided 2024

State EV 2024 2020 2024 Margin
Pennsylvania 19 Trump R Biden D R+1.8
Georgia 16 Trump R Biden D R+2.2
North Carolina 16 Trump R Trump R R+3.2
Michigan 15 Trump R Biden D R+1.4
Arizona 11 Trump R Biden D R+5.5
Wisconsin 10 Trump R Biden D R+0.9
Nevada 6 Trump R Biden D R+3.1

2020 comparison: Biden flipped Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada from 2016 Trump wins. In 2024, Trump flipped all six back plus added North Carolina more decisively.

Committee session in Congress hall, Washington

Reform Debates

Critics of the Electoral College argue it distorts the democratic will by overweighting smaller states and concentrating all campaign activity in a handful of swing states. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposed workaround: states pledge to award all their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote. As of 2026, states totaling 209 electoral votes have joined — short of the 270 threshold needed to take effect.

Defenders argue the Electoral College forces candidates to build broad geographic coalitions and protects smaller states from being ignored entirely. Abolishing it would require a constitutional amendment with two-thirds support in both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of states — an extremely high bar.

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