Electoral College Basics
This is the number of total electoral votes in the U.S.
What is 538
This state has the most electoral votes.
What is California
This Founding Father is often credited as a key designer of the Electoral College
Who is James Madison
This term describes electors who don’t vote as pledged.
What is faithless elector
Electors officially cast their votes in this month following the election.
What is December
To win the presidency, a candidate must secure this many electoral votes.
What is 270
These two states split their electoral votes instead of using winner-take-all.
What are Maine and Nebraska
This president was the first to win without the popular vote in 1824.
Who is John Quincy Adams
A candidate can win the presidency without winning this national measure of votes.
What is the popular vote
This branch of Congress counts the electoral votes in a joint session.
What is the legislative branch (Congress)
Each state’s electoral votes equal its number of representatives plus these.
What are senators
This small northeastern state has just 3 electoral votes, like several others.
What is Vermont
This election in 2000 was famously decided by a Supreme Court ruling.
What is Bush v. Gore
Critics say the Electoral College gives too much power to these kinds of states.
What are swing states
This government official receives and stores the certified electoral results.
Who is the Vice President
This U.S. territory has no electoral votes despite participating in primaries.
What is Puerto Rico
This southern swing state had 30 electoral votes in 2024.
What is Florida
In 1876, this man won the presidency after a disputed Electoral College result.
Who is Rutherford B. Hayes
In 2016, this Democratic candidate won the popular vote but lost the election.
Who is Hillary Clinton
If no presidential candidate wins a majority, the election is decided by this chamber.
What is the House of Representatives
This amendment revised the process of electing the president and vice president.
What is the 12th Amendment
This state gained the most electoral votes after the 2020 Census.
What is Texas
This third-party candidate won 46 electoral votes in 1968.
Who is George Wallace
This proposed alternative would allocate votes to the national popular vote winner without changing the Constitution.
What is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
If the House must decide the election, each of these gets one vote.
What is each state delegation