How do the 538 electoral votes get divided among the states?

Answer 1

The number of electors a state is entitled to appoint is equal to the total number of voting members in both Houses of Congress to which the state will be entitled on the next Inauguration Day. The District of Columbia, which has no voting membership in Congress, is entitled to appoint three electors.

Each state is entitled to two Senators and at least one Representative. Therefore, each state is entitled to appoint at least three electors. The maximum total number of electors is equal to the total number of House seats (435) plus the total number of Senate seats (100) plus the three from the District of Columbia (435 + 100 + 3 = 538).

The number of Representatives to which each state is entitled is redetermined after every U.S. Census and is roughly proportional to the number of people who consider the state their permanent residence, including those away in the military, in college, or temporarily working out of state or abroad. That makes each state's House membership 435 times the ratio of the state population to the national population rounded up or down to the next whole number but no less than one.

The population of all 50 states as counted in the 2010 U.S. Census was 308,143,815. The 50 states are listed below in order by population. After each state abbreviation is...

• the state's 2010 U.S. Census population, followed by
• the ratio of the state population to 308,143,815, followed by
• 435 times the previous ratio, followed by
• the state's actual number of House seats from January 2013 until January 2023, followed by
• the number of electors the state can appoint in 2012, 2016 and 2020 (the previous number plus two).

CA - 37253956 - 12.090% - 52.59 - 53 - 55

TX - 25145561 - 8.160% - 35.50 - 36 - 38

NY - 19378102 - 6.289% - 27.36 - 27 - 29

FL - 18801310 - 6.101% - 26.54 - 27 - 29

IL - 12830632 - 4.164% - 18.11 - 18 - 20

PA - 12702379 - 4.122% - 17.93 - 18 - 20

OH - 11536504 - 3.744% - 16.29 - 16 - 18

MI - 9883640 - 3.207% - 13.95 - 14 - 16

GA - 9687653 - 3.144% - 13.68 - 14 - 16

NC - 9535483 - 3.094% - 13.46 - 13 - 15

NJ - 8791894 - 2.853% - 12.41 - 12 - 14

VA - 8001024 - 2.597% - 11.29 - 11 - 13

WA - 6724540 - 2.182% - 9.49 - 10 - 12

MA - 6547629 - 2.125% - 9.24 - 9 - 11

IN - 6483802 - 2.104% - 9.15 - 9 - 11

AZ - 6392017 - 2.074% - 9.02 - 9 - 11

TN - 6346105 - 2.059% - 8.96 - 9 - 11

MO - 5988927 - 1.944% - 8.45 - 8 - 10

MD - 5773552 - 1.874% - 8.15 - 8 - 10

WI - 5686986 - 1.846% - 8.03 - 8 - 10

MN - 5303925 - 1.721% - 7.49 - 8 - 10

CO - 5029196 - 1.632% - 7.10 - 7 - 9

AL - 4779736 - 1.551% - 6.75 - 7 - 9

SC - 4625364 - 1.501% - 6.53 - 7 - 9

LA - 4533372 - 1.471% - 6.40 - 6 - 8

KY - 4339367 - 1.408% - 6.13 - 6 - 8

OR - 3831074 - 1.243% - 5.41 - 5 - 7

OK - 3751351 - 1.217% - 5.30 - 5 - 7

CT - 3574097 - 1.160% - 5.05 - 5 - 7

IA - 3046355 - 0.989% - 4.30 - 4 - 6

MS - 2967297 - 0.963% - 4.19 - 4 - 6

AR - 2915918 - 0.946% - 4.12 - 4 - 6

KS - 2853118 - 0.926% - 4.03 - 4 - 6

UT - 2763885 - 0.897% - 3.90 - 4 - 6

NV - 2700551 - 0.876% - 3.81 - 4 - 6

NM - 2059179 - 0.668% - 2.91 - 3 - 5

WV - 1852994 - 0.601% - 2.62 - 3 - 5

NE - 1826341 - 0.593% - 2.58 - 3 - 5

ID - 1567582 - 0.509% - 2.21 - 2 - 4

HI - 1360301 - 0.441% - 1.92 - 2 - 4

ME - 1328361 - 0.431% - 1.88 - 2 - 4

NH - 1316470 - 0.427% - 1.86 - 2 - 4

RI - 1052567 - 0.342% - 1.49 - 2 - 4

MT - 989415 - 0.321% - 1.40 - 1 - 3

DE - 897934 - 0.291% - 1.27 - 1 - 3

SD - 814180 - 0.264% - 1.15 - 1 - 3

AK - 710231 - 0.230% - 1.00 - 1 - 3

ND - 672591 - 0.218% - 0.95 - 1 - 3

VT - 625741 - 0.203% - 0.88 - 1 - 3

WY - 563626 - 0.183% - 0.80 - 1 - 3

Answer 2

The number of electoral votes is the total number of Senators and Congressmen that state has plus three for the District of Columbia. Each state as two senators and at least one congressman, so each state has at least three votes. The number of Congressmen over the one required is determined by the most recent census.