The Electoral College Explained

What Is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is the system the United States uses to choose its president. Voters in each state pick a slate of electors, and those 538 electors cast the votes that decide the winner. A state gets one elector for each of its House seats plus two for its senators, and Washington, D.C. gets 3.

How the Electoral College Treats Your State

How much a presidential campaign cares about your vote depends on where you live. Pick your state to see its electoral votes, how much weight each resident carries, whether the 2024 campaigns competed there, and where it stands on the National Popular Vote Compact.

The Electoral College in your state

Choose your state. The map shows one question at a time.

Choose your state to see its rules Select a state AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

Electoral votes and population come from the 2020 Census apportionment (D.C.: 2020 resident population). FairVote does not publish in text which states outside the seven got the other 16 events, so the card does not say whether a candidate visited your state.

Where the 2024 campaigns wentNational Popular Vote Compact

Where the 2024 campaigns went

• Swing state: 7 states drew 245 of 261 events together
• Everywhere else: 16 events in all, 32 states with none

Sources: Census Bureau, 2020 apportionment, Table 1; FairVote, Presidential campaign events in 2024; National Popular Vote, 94% of 2024 campaign concentrated in 7 states; National Popular Vote, State status. Verified September 24, 2026.

Where the 2024 campaigns went

State	Electoral votes	Electoral votes per million residents	How your electoral votes are awarded	2024 campaign attention	National Popular Vote Compact	What you can ask for
Alabama	9	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Alaska	3	4.1 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Arizona	11	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
Arkansas	6	2.0 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
California	54	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Colorado	10	1.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Connecticut	7	1.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Delaware	3	3.0 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
District of Columbia	3	4.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Florida	30	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Georgia	16	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Hawaii	4	2.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Idaho	4	2.2 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Illinois	19	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Indiana	11	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Iowa	6	1.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Kansas	6	2.0 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Kentucky	8	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Louisiana	8	1.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Maine	4	2.9 per million residents	Split: two to the statewide winner, one to the winner of each congressional district	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Maryland	10	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Massachusetts	11	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Michigan	15	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
Minnesota	10	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Mississippi	6	2.0 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Missouri	10	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Montana	4	3.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Nebraska	5	2.5 per million residents	Split: two to the statewide winner, one to the winner of each congressional district	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Nevada	6	1.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
New Hampshire	4	2.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
New Jersey	14	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
New Mexico	5	2.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
New York	28	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
North Carolina	16	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
North Dakota	3	3.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Ohio	17	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Oklahoma	7	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
Oregon	8	1.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Pennsylvania	19	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Rhode Island	4	3.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
South Carolina	9	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
South Dakota	3	3.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Tennessee	11	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Texas	40	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Utah	6	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Vermont	3	4.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Virginia	13	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Washington	12	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
West Virginia	4	2.2 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Wisconsin	10	1.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Wyoming	3	5.2 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.

See all states in a table

All states Swing state: 7 states drew 245 of 261 events togetherEverywhere else: 16 events in all, 32 states with none Showing 51 of 51 states

State	Electoral votes	Electoral votes per million residents	How your electoral votes are awarded	2024 campaign attention	National Popular Vote Compact	What you can ask for
Alabama	9	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Alaska	3	4.1 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Arizona	11	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
Arkansas	6	2.0 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
California	54	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Colorado	10	1.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Connecticut	7	1.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Delaware	3	3.0 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
District of Columbia	3	4.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Florida	30	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Georgia	16	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Hawaii	4	2.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Idaho	4	2.2 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Illinois	19	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Indiana	11	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Iowa	6	1.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Kansas	6	2.0 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Kentucky	8	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Louisiana	8	1.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Maine	4	2.9 per million residents	Split: two to the statewide winner, one to the winner of each congressional district	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Maryland	10	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Massachusetts	11	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Michigan	15	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
Minnesota	10	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Mississippi	6	2.0 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Missouri	10	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Montana	4	3.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Nebraska	5	2.5 per million residents	Split: two to the statewide winner, one to the winner of each congressional district	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Nevada	6	1.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
New Hampshire	4	2.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
New Jersey	14	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
New Mexico	5	2.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
New York	28	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
North Carolina	16	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
North Dakota	3	3.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Ohio	17	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Oklahoma	7	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Passed one chamber, not both	One chamber has passed it before. Ask your legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote.
Oregon	8	1.9 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Pennsylvania	19	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Rhode Island	4	3.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
South Carolina	9	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
South Dakota	3	3.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Tennessee	11	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Texas	40	1.4 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Utah	6	1.8 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Vermont	3	4.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Virginia	13	1.5 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
Washington	12	1.6 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Joined	Your state is already in. Ask your lawmakers to keep the law on the books.
West Virginia	4	2.2 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Wisconsin	10	1.7 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
Wyoming	3	5.2 per million residents	All to the statewide winner	Not a swing state	Not joined	Ask your state legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.

Sources: Census Bureau, 2020 apportionment, Table 1; FairVote, Presidential campaign events in 2024; National Popular Vote, 94% of 2024 campaign concentrated in 7 states; National Popular Vote, State status. Verified September 24, 2026.

How the Electoral College Works in Three Steps

1. Voters pick a presidential ticket. On Election Day, you vote for a candidate, and that vote goes to the candidate’s slate of electors in your state.
2. Your state awards its electors. In 48 states and D.C., the statewide winner takes all of them. Maine and Nebraska give two to the statewide winner and one to the winner of each congressional district.
3. Electors vote and Congress counts. Electors meet in their states in December. A candidate needs 270 of the 538 votes, and Congress counts them in a joint session on January 6.

Winner-take-all is the rule that shapes everything else on this page. A candidate who wins a state by one vote usually gets every one of its electors, so a campaign gains little by spending time in a state it expects to win or lose comfortably, even one where millions of its supporters live.

Seven Swing States Got 94% of Campaign Events

The 2024 campaigns went where a few thousand votes could flip a whole state. From the conventions to Election Day, they held 261 in-person events, and 245 of them were in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The other 16 were spread across the rest of the country, and 32 states got none (FairVote).

Those seven states hold 18.2% of the U.S. population and 93 electoral votes, so about 82% of Americans live outside them (Census Bureau). A candidate’s time, staff, and money follow those 93 votes.

When the Electoral College and Popular Vote Disagree

Five times, the candidate with the most votes nationwide did not become president: in 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016 (U.S. House History). The last four were the same kind of split, where one candidate won the popular vote and the other won a majority of electors. The first was different. In 1824, no one won a majority of electors, so the House chose the president.

1. 1824 House chooses Adams Jackson won the most votes, but no one won a majority of electors
2. 1876 Hayes wins by 1 elector 185-184. Tilden won the popular vote by about 250,000
3. 1888 Harrison wins the Electoral College Cleveland won the popular vote by 89,293
4. 2000 Bush wins Florida by 537 votes Gore won nationally by 537,179 votes
5. 2016 Trump wins 3 states by 78K votes Clinton won nationally by 2,868,686 votes

: 1824: House chooses Adams (Jackson won the most votes, but no one won a majority of electors). 1876: Hayes wins by 1 elector (185-184. Tilden won the popular vote by about 250,000). 1888: Harrison wins the Electoral College (Cleveland won the popular vote by 89,293). 2000: Bush wins Florida by 537 votes (Gore won nationally by 537,179 votes). 2016: Trump wins 3 states by 78K votes (Clinton won nationally by 2,868,686 votes).

1824: Andrew Jackson won the most popular votes, but no candidate won a majority of electors, so the House chose John Quincy Adams, with each state delegation casting one vote (U.S. House History).

1876: Samuel Tilden won the popular vote by about 250,000 and led the electoral count, one vote short of the 185 needed. Returns from Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon were disputed, and Congress created an Electoral Commission of House members, senators, and Supreme Court justices to decide them. Rutherford Hayes won 185-184 (U.S. House History).

1888: Grover Cleveland won the popular vote by 89,293, and Benjamin Harrison won the Electoral College (National Popular Vote).

2000: Al Gore won the popular vote by 537,179. George W. Bush won Florida by 537 votes after the Supreme Court stopped the recount. Gore’s national lead was about 1,000 times the Florida margin that decided the election (FEC, Federal Elections 2000).

2016: Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2,868,686. Donald Trump won Wisconsin by 22,748, Michigan by 10,704, and Pennsylvania by 44,292, a combined 77,744 votes that outweighed a national margin of 2.9 million (FEC, Federal Elections 2016).

Small States Get More Electoral Votes per Resident

Every state gets two Senate-based electors no matter how many people live there, so small states get more electoral votes per resident. By the 2020 Census count used for apportionment, Wyoming has one electoral vote for every 192,573 residents and California one for every 732,903. By that measure, Wyoming has about 3.8 times as many electoral votes per resident as California (Census Bureau). The margins can be tiny: New York missed a 27th House seat, and with it a 29th electoral vote, by 89 residents in the 2020 census.

Wyoming, the smallest state, gets more than three times the national average of electoral votes per resident, and the largest states get about 14% to 16% less. The national average is one electoral vote for every 616,725 residents.

Electoral votes per million people in the five smallest and four largest jurisdictions

Category	Value
Wyoming	5.19
Vermont	4.66
District of Columbia	4.35
Alaska	4.08
North Dakota	3.85
National average	1.62
Florida	1.39
New York	1.39
Texas	1.37
California	1.36

Values are electoral votes per million residents, using 2020 apportionment population (D.C.: 2020 resident population). Source: Census Bureau.

Where the Small-State Advantage Came From

The framers debated for months over how to choose the president, and the Electoral College came out of that debate (U.S. House History). House seats were apportioned under the three-fifths clause, which counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person and gave slaveholding states extra House seats and extra electors. The 14th Amendment ended that count in 1868, but the two Senate-based electors every state receives remain.

Five Proposals to Reform the Electoral College

Reform ranges from a state-by-state compact that needs no amendment to a constitutional change that has failed for two centuries. Each option has a different author and a different catch.

18 States and D.C. Joined the National Popular Vote Compact

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement among states to give all their electors to the candidate who wins the most votes nationwide. It keeps the Electoral College and uses each state’s constitutional power to decide how it awards electors. Eighteen states and D.C. have joined, holding 222 of the 270 electoral votes needed for it to take effect, and Virginia became the latest in April 2026 (National Popular Vote).

222

61

255

• Joined the compact (222 electoral votes) 18 states and D.C.
• Passed one chamber (61 electoral votes) AR, AZ, MI, NC, NV, OK
• Neither (255 electoral votes) The remaining 26 states

Electoral votes under the 2020 apportionment, as of September 2026. Source: National Popular Vote.

The compact has never been in effect or used in an election. Whether it needs Congress’s consent under the Constitution’s Compact Clause “is simply unresolved by the relevant case law,” the Congressional Research Service wrote in 2019, and the question “would likely be the source of considerable litigation if the initiative ever became effective” (CRS).

How Other Democracies Choose a President

Among 125 democracies Pew Research Center studied, 65 elect their head of state directly, 30 are constitutional monarchies, and 30, including the U.S., elect the head of state indirectly. The other 29 indirect systems give the choice to their national legislatures, joined in five cases by representatives of states or regions, as in Germany. “Only the U.S. has a system in which voters elect a body of ‘electors’ whose sole function is to actually choose the president,” Pew found (Pew Research Center).

The Real Tradeoff in the Electoral College Debate

The Electoral College has defenders and critics, and each side’s strongest case is worth hearing.

Defenders of the Electoral College say a national popular vote would weaken the states’ role. A 2008 Cato Institute report said the National Popular Vote compact would “weaken federalism by eliminating the role of states in presidential contests,” and a 2011 Heritage Foundation report said it would diminish the influence of less populous states, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Supporters of a national popular vote maintain that the system is “intrinsically undemocratic” because it elects the president indirectly, as CRS summarizes their view. They point to the swing-state concentration of campaigns, the extra weight of small states, and the five elections the popular-vote winner lost. In Gallup’s September 2024 poll, 58% favored a popular-vote system and 39% wanted to keep the Electoral College (Gallup).

What is not in dispute:

• The system counts states, not individual votes, and 48 states award electors winner-take-all.
• In 2024, seven states drew 245 of 261 campaign events.
• Small states get more electoral votes per resident by design.
• The Electoral College winner has lost the popular vote in 5 of 51 elections since 1824.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do electors vote, and when does Congress count? Electors meet in each state on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December and cast separate ballots for president and vice president (3 U.S.C. 7). Congress counts the results in a joint session on January 6, and the new president takes office on January 20.

What happens if no one gets 270 electoral votes? The House of Representatives chooses the president, with each state delegation casting one vote, while the Senate chooses the vice president. That has happened once under the 12th Amendment’s rules, in 1824.

Can electors vote for someone other than who won their state? Some can. These are called “faithless electors.” Most states require electors to pledge to vote for their party’s nominee. On July 6, 2020, the Supreme Court held that a state may enforce that pledge (Chiafalo v. Washington).

Does the National Popular Vote Compact abolish the Electoral College? No. Electors still cast the votes. Member states agree to give theirs to the national vote winner, and the agreement only takes effect once members hold 270 electoral votes.

What You Can Do

1. Look up your state in the finder above. It shows where your state stands on the compact and what to ask for.
2. If your state has joined the compact, thank your state legislators and ask them to keep it on the books. Eighteen states and D.C. are in.
3. If one chamber in your state has passed it, ask legislators in both chambers to bring it to a final vote. That applies to Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Open States finds your legislators.
4. If your state has not acted, ask your legislators to introduce or cosponsor a bill to join the compact.
5. If you live in Maine or Nebraska, know that your congressional district’s result decides one elector, so your district lines matter in the presidential race too. The redistricting explainer covers who draws them.
6. Vote in every race, even in a safe state. Campaigns may skip your state, but your House, Senate, and state races turn on turnout.
7. Send your state legislators the letter below, or text RESIST to 50409 to send it through Resistbot.