Citizens vote in the states
Presidential elections are administered by the states. Voters cast ballots for presidential candidates, and those results determine how electors are appointed under state law.
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Elections & Voting · Interactive Process + Simulator
The Electoral College
See how a presidential election moves from state voting to electors, congressional counting, and the constitutional majority of 270 electoral votes.
Build a path to 270 ↓
The Constitutional Process
The Electoral College is a process, not a place.
Move through the five major stages to understand where voters, states, electors, and Congress enter the system.
States appoint electors
Each state receives electors equal to its total representation in Congress: House members plus two senators. The District of Columbia receives three electors under the Twenty-Third Amendment.
Electors cast electoral votes
Electors meet in their respective states and cast separate votes for President and Vice President. Certificates documenting those votes are transmitted through the federal process.
Congress counts the votes
Congress meets in joint session to count the electoral votes according to constitutional and statutory procedures.
A majority elects the President
With 538 electoral votes available, 270 constitutes a majority. If no candidate receives a majority, the Constitution provides contingent-election procedures in Congress.
Interactive 270 Builder
Build an electoral-vote majority.
Select states to see how their electoral votes accumulate. This is a neutral arithmetic exercise—the selections do not represent party support or a forecast.
Selected electoral votes
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270 needed for a majority
State
0 electoral votes
Important: This simplified builder assigns each state as one unit. Most states use a statewide winner-take-all method; Maine and Nebraska can allocate electoral votes by congressional district as well as statewide results.
Why 538?
Electoral votes are tied to congressional representation.
The 50 states receive electoral votes equal to their House seats plus two senators. The District of Columbia receives three electoral votes. Current allocations based on the 2020 Census apply to the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.
Sources & Further Reading