Ohio Electoral College Guide
Ohio casts 17 electoral votes in presidential elections. Ohio's 17 EV were the ultimate bellwether for a century (deciding the 2004 election). Now lean-R after the white working-class realignment. No longer competitive.
Role in the Electoral College
Ohio's 17 EV were the ultimate bellwether for a century (deciding the 2004 election). Now lean-R after the white working-class realignment. No longer competitive.
Electoral Vote History
Bush won OH by 2 points in 2004, deciding the presidency. Obama won twice. Trump won by 8 points in 2016 and has held since.
Electoral College Basics
The United States uses an Electoral College system to elect the president. Each state receives electoral votes equal to its total congressional representation: number of House seats + 2 (senators). Ohio has 15 House seats + 2 senators = 17 electoral votes.
A candidate needs 270 out of 538 electoral votes to win the presidency. Ohio’s 17 electoral votes represent 3.2% of the total needed.
Most states use a winner-take-all system — the popular vote winner receives all electoral votes. The exception is Maine and Nebraska, which allocate electoral votes by congressional district. Ohio uses the winner-take-all system.