It’s not often that the number of Electoral Votes available for a State for a US Presidential election changes. But what happens when these states suddenly find themselves with a different number of votes? Did they misplace some? Is there some black magic going on? Not quite! The story of fluctuating electoral votes basically comes down to people packing up their belongings and heading for greener pastures.
Here's how it all works:
Every ten years, the U.S. government conducts the Census, basically a headcount of every man, woman, household—across the country. When the Census data is tallied, "Ah," says the government, "Seems like Texas is the place many people want to be these days; let's give it more electoral votes!"
But hold on…following the US elections over the years, I know for a fact that the total number of electoral votes in the Electoral College is always 538. So how can Texas get more electoral votes? The reason this is possible is because how those votes are split among the states can change. If people migrate into one state, that state might get a couple more votes. If they flee another, it might lose some.
The exact formula for distributing these votes is quite complex. But to boil it down:
1. Each state starts with two electoral votes, no matter how tiny it is (like the U.S. Senate!).
2. The rest of the 538 votes are handed out based on population.
3. If you’ve got more people, you get more votes. Less people? The votes get shifted elsewhere.
This is why states like California and Texas strut around with their dozens of electoral votes, while poor Wyoming sits in detention with just three votes.
Every decade, the Census reveals migration trends. States that gain a lot of new residents, like Texas or Florida, get a bigger slice of the electoral pie. Meanwhile, states like Michigan might be waving goodbye to votes as their residents move for various reasons.
Once the Census results are in, the states' seats at the electoral table are rearranged, and some are left with less votes than what they had just a decade ago. This redistribution might impact how presidential candidates strategize and which states they target.
And so, every ten years, the electoral votes scene get a makeover. States complaint or cheer, depending on whether they have had votes taken away or have votes added.
Since the last Presidential elections in 2020, 13 States have had their electoral vote count changed. Almost all of them had either 1 vote added or 1 vote taken away. The biggest winner is Texas that now has 2 additional electoral votes in 2024 compared to 2020. As they say, everything is big in Texas!
