page_title: Electoral college
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Electoral college / Modern electoral colleges / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: Gott and Colley's Electoral Cartogram showing the electoral votes apportioned to each state as a result of the 2010 Census. Note that the cartogram is topologically correct in that any state that borders another state in reality borders that state on the cartogram, and wherever multiple states meet at a point in reality, they also do so on the cartogram. The color map uses a 4-color system, which because of the topological correctness, could be applied to a standard geographic map as well. A previous version of this cartogram (reflecting the 2000 apportionment) was published in Mathematical and Computer Modeling. This image, and a monochrome version will be maintained at http://www.colleyrankings.com/cartogram2010, where one may also expect to find polling and election information in 2012.
context_page_description: An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to particular offices. Often these represent different organizations, political parties, or entities, with each organization, political party or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way.
context_section_description: The United States Electoral College is an example of a system in which an executive president is indirectly elected, with electors representing the 50 states and the federal district. Each state has a number of electors equal to its Congressional representation (in both houses), with the non-state District of Columbia receiving the number it would have if it were a state, but in no case more than that of the least populous state. The electors generally cast their votes for the winner of the popular vote in their respective states. However, there are several states where this is not required by law. In the United States, 270 electoral votes of the 538 electors are currently required to win the presidential election.
  State laws requiring electors to vote as directed are the subject of ongoing legal controversy. In 2020, the United States Supreme Court decided that, in Chiafalo v. Washington, those electors may be punished by law.
caption: The breakdown of votes in the U.S. Electoral College after reapportionment based on the 2010 census.
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