The Electoral College is a mechanism established by the United States Constitution for the election of the President and Vice President. It consists of 538 electors, and a majority of 270 electoral votes is required to win the presidency. The distribution of these electoral votes among the states is based on the following formula:
-
Senators and Representatives: Each state has a number of electoral votes equal to the total number of its Senators and Representatives in Congress.
- Every state has 2 Senators.
- The number of Representatives is based on the state's population, which is determined by the decennial census. States with larger populations have more Representatives. The total number of Representatives in the House is fixed at 435.
-
Minimum Electoral Votes: Every state is guaranteed at least 3 electoral votes, regardless of its population, because this accounts for its 2 Senators and at least 1 Representative.
-
Total Calculation: The total number of electoral votes is 538, which is the sum of all the Senators (100) and Representatives (435), plus 3 electors representing the District of Columbia. The 23rd Amendment to the Constitution grants the District of Columbia electoral votes.
For example:
- A small state like Wyoming has 3 electoral votes (2 Senators + 1 Representative).
- A larger state like California has 55 electoral votes (2 Senators + 53 Representatives).
This system leads to variations in the influence of each state's votes, with smaller states having a disproportionately higher number of electoral votes per capita compared to larger states.