What is the number of electoral votes for each state based on?

Answer 1

Each state appoints a number of electors equal to the total number of Senators and Representatives that the state has in Congress. The District of Columbia appoints a number of electors equal to the number of electors appointed by the state with the lowest population. Since every state has a minimum of one Congressman in the House of Representatives, and every state has two U. S. Senators, the minimum number of electors per state is three. California has the most with 55. Texas is second with 38.

Answer 2

Each state is entitled to a number of electors equal to the number of Representatives it is entitled to plus the number of Senators it has.
The number of electoral votes each state receives is equal to the number of Senators plus the number of Representatives the state has. Each state has two Senators, and the number of Representatives each state has is determined by the population of the state. Washington DC gets the same amount of electoral votes as the state with the least (currently 3).
The sum of the members of congress for that state (that is, the number of members of the House of Representatives, plus the number of Senators).

For the District of Columbia, it gets a number of electors equal to the LESSOR of:

• the number it would get if it were a state
• the number of electors equal to those given to the least populous state

The population of the state
They are based on their congressional representation.

Answer 3

This figure is based on population. The total is set at 435 and each state gets at least one representative regardless of population. The figures are adjusted every 10 years after each official census. The ideal is for every congressional district to have the same population, but since this is impossible, reapportionment becomes a mathematically interesting problem.

If I recall correctly, the process goes something like this:

To start with, X = the total Population of the US. Y = 435, the total number of Representatives

1. Divide X by 435. If any state has less than this number of people, assign that state 1 representative, then remove that state's population from X. Let's assume that N is the set of states with 1 representative. Thus: Y = Y- sizeof(N), and X = X - (population of all states in N)
2. Divide X by sizeof(N). Call this number P.
3. From each state not in N, repeatedly subtract P from that state's population, giving them one representative at every subtraction, until the remain population for the state is less than P.
4. This will now leave all states not in N with some fraction of people < P. Assign the remaining representatives, one at a time, to the states with the largest remaining population values.

For instance, here's a short example (made up numbers):

Assume the US has 10 states, with 100 million people, and has 20 representatives to apportion. People live in the states in the following distribution:

• State A has 3 million people
• State B has 4 million people
• State C has 5 million people
• State D has 6 million people
• State E has 9 million people
• State F has 10 million people
• State G has 11 million people
• State H has 12 million people
• State I has 19 million people
• State J has 21 million people

Thus, to start with, each representative should represent 100/20 = 5 million people.

Thus, State A, B and C all get 1 representative. This leaves 17 representatives to be apportioned amongst the remaining 7 states, which have (100-(3+4+5))=88 million people.

Next, 88/17 =~ 5.17 million. At this level, then, here is the apportionment:

• State D gets 1 rep, with 0.8 million people left over
• State E gets 1 rep, with 3.8 million people left over
• State F gets 1 rep, with 4.8 million people left over
• State G gets 2 reps, with 0.6 million people left over
• State H gets 2 reps, with 1.6 million people left over
• State I gets 3 reps, with 3.4 million people left over
• State J gets 4 reps, with 0.3 million people left over

At this stage, we now have allocated 14 representatives. We have 3 left over. The states with the the largest "remainder" population are F, E, and I. Each of them gets another representative.

Thus, for the entire nation, here is the representative count and the approximate number of people they have in their district:

• State A has 1 representative, serving 3 million people
• State B has 1 representative, serving 4 million people
• State C has 1 representative, serving 5 million people
• State D has 1 representative, serving 6 million people
• State E has 2 representatives, each serving 4.5 million people
• State F has 2 representatives, each serving 5 million people
• State G has 2 representatives, each serving 5.5 million people
• State H has 2 representatives, each serving 6 million people
• State I has 4 representatives, each serving 4.75 million people
• State J has 4 representatives, each serving 5.25 million people

The national "optimal" value for people per representative is 5 million. So, obviously, some places are better (A) than others (D or H).

Answer 4

Each state has electoral votes equal to the total of the 2 representative the state has in the U.S. Senate plus the number of representative the state has in the House of Representatives. Since every state has two senators and at least one representative to the House, every state has at least 3 electoral votes. The number of representative in the U.S. House of Representatives is fixed at 435. Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau takes a census of the population in each state. The 435 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives is then reapportioned among the 50 states based on the population in each state. The District of Columbia gets 3 electoral votes. Therefore, the total number of electoral votes is fixed at 538 - 100 (senators) + 435 (representatives) + 3 (for DC). The number of electoral votes for individual states may increase or decrease each 10 years based on the results of the updated census results.

Answer 5

Congressional representation, because it is drawn based on population.

Answer 6

It is based upon House population plus Two your Senators....

Answer 7

It all depends on the population of the state.

Answer 8

population