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✶ Article II · 12th Amendment

538 electors.
270 to win.

Americans don't vote for President directly. They vote for electors, state by state — and the candidate who wins a majority of electors wins the White House. Click states to build your own map.

226Democrat

2024 result · Republican wins

312Republican
VT NH MA RI CT NJ DE MD DC
Click or tap a state: Democrat → Republican → undecided
Note: the builder awards Maine and Nebraska as whole states.

The calendar

From ballot
to inauguration.

  1. 01 · Nov 7, 2028

    Election Day

    Voters in each state choose a slate of electors pledged to a ticket. The candidate's name is on the ballot; the electors' usually aren't.

  2. 02 · By Dec 13, 2028

    Certification

    Each governor issues a Certificate of Ascertainment naming the winning electors (deadline set by the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022).

  3. 03 · Dec 19, 2028

    Electors vote

    Electors meet in their own state capitals and cast separate ballots for President and Vice President. 38 states plus DC bind electors by law.

  4. 04 · Jan 6, 2029

    Congress counts

    A joint session opens the certificates. Objections now require one-fifth of each chamber; the Vice President's role is purely ministerial.

  5. 05 · Jan 20, 2029

    Inauguration

    The 20th Amendment fixes noon on January 20 as the start of the new term.

Nuance

The fine print.

Why 538?

One elector per member of Congress — 435 representatives plus 100 senators — plus 3 for the District of Columbia under the 23rd Amendment (1961).

Winner-take-all

48 states and DC give every elector to the statewide winner. That is state law, not the Constitution.

Maine & Nebraska

Two electors go to the statewide winner and one to the winner of each congressional district. In 2024, Nebraska's 2nd went Democratic and Maine's 2nd Republican.

Faithless electors

Chiafalo v. Washington (2020) upheld state laws that punish or replace electors who break their pledge.

Small-state weight

Every state gets at least three electors, so a Wyoming vote carries roughly three to four times the electoral weight of a California vote.

If no one reaches 270

The House picks the President — one vote per state delegation, 26 needed — and the Senate picks the Vice President. It last happened in 1824.

Popular-vote splits

Five presidents won without a popular-vote plurality: 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016.

National Popular Vote compact

States and DC with about 209 electoral votes have joined a compact to award electors to the national winner; it takes effect only once members reach 270.

Weight

The ten largest prizes

  1. California 54
  2. Texas 40
  3. Florida 30
  4. New York 28
  5. Illinois 19
  6. Pennsylvania 19
  7. Ohio 17
  8. Georgia 16
  9. North Carolina 16
  10. Michigan 15

Electoral votes for 2024–2028, based on the 2020 census. They will be reapportioned after the 2030 census.