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← The Electoral College

Path to 270

Assign each state — and, if you like, Maine's and Nebraska's districts — to a side, and watch the electoral-vote total climb toward the 270 needed to win. A hands-on way to see how a presidential election is assembled state by state.

Reads as a learning tool. Most states award all their electors to their statewide winner (winner-take-all); Maine and Nebraska instead split by congressional district — toggle that on to be precise. For the mechanism behind the numbers, see The Electoral College.

Side A0270 to 270
Tossup538unassigned
Side B0270 to 270

Side A 0, Side B 0, Tossup 538. Side A needs 270, Side B needs 270 to reach 270.

Click a tile to cycle it: A Side A → B Side B → Tossup. Each tile shows a letter as well as a color.

Electoral-vote counts: 2020 U.S. Census apportionment (2024–2028 cycle) — 435 House seats + 100 senators + 3 for D.C. = 538.

New to how this works? Start with the primer — The Electoral College — then come back and build a map. See also the Elections explorer for real races.