How electoral votes in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut affect the Electoral College and the 2024 election

There is a lot at stake Electoral College in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for the 2024 election.

When Americans vote in the presidential election, they naturally cast their vote for the candidate of their choice. These votes, in turn, determine how voters in each state vote in the Electoral College.

To become president, a candidate must win a majority of the country's votes. There are 538 in total, so 270 is the magic number to be elected president.

How many voters does each state have?

The number of electors for each state is determined by the number of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Therefore, there are 28 electoral votes in New York. There are 14 electoral votes in New Jersey and seven in Connecticut.

In total, that's 49 of the 270 needed to get elected in the Tri-State area alone.

In most states – including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – all electoral votes are cast for the candidate who wins the state's popular vote. Only two states, Maine and Nebraska, allocate electors based on the popular vote in each congressional district.

Will the winner of the popular vote become president?

Because our presidential elections are not won by popular vote alone, sometimes the person with the most votes does not win the race.

For example, George W. Bush became president in 2000 despite receiving fewer votes than Al Gore. In 2016, the same thing happened: Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but Donald Trump became president. There were three other similar situations, all in the 19th century.

Although there have been many proposals to reform or abolish the Electoral College entirely, none have been successful, and doing so would require amending the U.S. Constitution.