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Electoral College: How many votes does each state get in 2024?

The race for the White House all comes down to 270 Electoral College votes. Here's a guide to how many votes each state gets this year to decide the presidency.

WASHINGTON — With Election Day almost here, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are wrapping up their final visits to the battleground states that could decide the next leader of the United States. 

When it comes to who wins the White House, the Electoral College will ultimately decide the winner once all the votes around the country are counted.  

But there have been five times in American history, and twice in the last 24 years, that the U.S. presidential election was not won by the person with the most overall votes

What is the Electoral College?

The U.S. is the only democracy in the modern era to use the Electoral College, which appoints electors to represent each state’s interests when it comes time to certify election results and count the vote. 

Each state gets as many electors as it has members of Congress. Washington, D.C. also has three Electoral College votes. There are 538 electoral votes up for grabs and in order to win the presidency, a candidate has to secure 270 of them. 

In 48 of the 50 states, the Electoral College operates in a winner-take-all system, meaning whichever candidate wins in the popular vote in that state gets all of its electoral votes. Maine and Nebraska use what's called the "congressional district method," giving two electoral votes to the state popular vote winner and one vote to the popular vote winner in each congressional district.  

Which states have the most electoral votes?

California, the most populous state, has 52 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives. So, combine that with the state's two senators, and it has 54 electoral votes.

Texas has the second-most with 40 electoral votes. After that, Florida has 30 votes, and New York has 28. Then, it goes to Pennsylvania and Illinois with 19 each. 

Number of electoral votes for each state

Since the 2020 election, 13 states have either gained or lost electoral votes for the 2024 presidential contest based on the 2020 census. The numbers in parenthesis reflect those states with different Electoral College votes this time around. 

Alabama - 9 electoral votes

Alaska - 3 electoral votes

Arizona - 11 electoral votes 

Arkansas - 6 electoral votes 

California - 54 electoral votes (-1)

Colorado - 10 electoral votes (+1)

Connecticut - 7 electoral votes 

Delaware - 3 electoral votes 

District of Columbia - 3 electoral votes 

Florida - 30 electoral votes (+1)

Georgia - 16 electoral votes 

Hawaii - 4 electoral votes 

Idaho - 4 electoral votes 

Illinois - 19 electoral votes (-1)

Indiana - 11 electoral votes 

Iowa - 6 electoral votes 

Kansas - 6 electoral votes 

Kentucky - 8 electoral votes 

Louisiana - 8 electoral votes 

Maine - 4 electoral votes 

Maryland - 10 electoral votes 

Massachusetts - 11 electoral votes 

Michigan - 15 electoral votes (-1)

Minnesota - 10 electoral votes 

Mississippi - 6 electoral votes 

Missouri - 10 electoral votes 

Montana - 4 electoral votes (+1)

Nebraska - 5 electoral votes 

Nevada - 6 electoral votes 

New Hampshire - 4 electoral votes 

New Jersey - 14 electoral votes 

New Mexico - 5 electoral votes 

New York - 28 electoral votes (-1)

North Carolina - 16 electoral votes (+1) 

North Dakota - 3 electoral votes 

Ohio - 17 electoral votes (-1)

Oklahoma - 7 electoral votes 

Oregon - 8 electoral votes (+1)

Pennsylvania - 19 electoral votes (-1)

Rhode Island - 4 electoral votes 

South Carolina - 9 electoral votes 

South Dakota - 3 electoral votes 

Tennessee - 11 electoral votes 

Texas - 40 electoral votes (+2)

Utah - 6 electoral votes 

Vermont - 3 electoral votes 

Virginia - 13 electoral votes 

Washington - 12 electoral votes 

West Virginia - 4 electoral votes (-1)

Wisconsin - 10 electoral votes 

Wyoming - 3 electoral votes 

Credit: TEGNA
A map showing the Electoral College votes for each state in 2024.

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