HOUSTON — Tuesday is Election Day, as voters head to the polls to decide who will lead the country, states, counties and various municipalities. For the presidential election, the Electoral College ultimately decides the winner.
Below is the allocation of electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election. It was determined by the 2010 Census. Each state gets a number of votes based on its number of senators and representatives. They get two votes for its senators, plus a number of votes equal to the number of Congressional districts.
In all but two states, the electoral votes go to whichever candidate wins the popular vote there. But in two states -- Nebraska and Maine -- two electoral votes go to the popular vote winner, then one electoral vote goes to the popular vote winner in each Congressional district they win.
There are 538 total electoral votes. Whichever candidate -- President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden -- gets to 270 electoral votes will win the presidency.
Texas is the second biggest prize with 38 electoral votes, only behind California's 55.
State-by-state number of electoral votes
Alabama - 9 votes
Alaska - 3 votes
Arizona - 11 votes
Arkansas - 6 votes
California - 55 votes
Colorado - 9 votes
Connecticut - 7 votes
Delaware - 3 votes
District of Columbia - 3 votes
Florida - 29 votes
Kentucky - 8 votes
North Dakota - 3 votes
Georgia - 16 votes
Hawaii - 4 votes
Idaho - 4 votes
Illinois - 20 votes
Indiana - 11 votes
Iowa - 6 votes
Kansas - 6 votes
Louisiana - 8 votes
Maine - 4 votes
Maryland - 10 votes
Massachusetts - 11 votes
Michigan - 16 votes
Mississippi - 6 votes
Missouri - 10 votes
Montana - 3 votes
Nebraska - 5 votes
Nevada - 6 votes
New Jersey - 14 votes
New Hampshire - 4 votes
New Mexico - 5 votes
New York - 29 votes
North Carolina - 15 votes
Ohio - 18 votes
Oklahoma - 7 votes
Oregon - 7 votes
Rhode Island - 4 votes
Pennsylvania - 20 votes
Minnesota - 10 votes
South Carolina - 9 votes
South Dakota - 3 votes
Tennessee - 11 votes
Texas - 38 votes
Utah - 6 votes
Vermont - 3 votes
Virginia - 13 votes
Washington - 12 votes
West Virginia - 5 votes
Wisconsin - 10 votes
Wyoming - 3 votes
Here's a map showing how the 2016 presidential election went
