By Fraser Perkins —
How much is your presidential vote worth?
How much would your vote for president be worth, if you moved to Hawaii, Texas, Vermont, or any other state?
This month I’ll look at one of the inequities of the Electoral College, the unequal value of one’s presidential vote depending on where you live. The following table summarizes each state by electoral votes and population. Dividing population by electoral votes gives the population per electoral vote (Pop per EV). Dividing this by the population/electoral college vote of the lowest state (Wyoming) gives us the number of people in each state required to equal one Wyoming resident in presidential elections.
| State | Electoral Votes | Population | Pop per EV | Ratio: to WY |
| Alabama | 9 | 4,903,185 | 544,798 | 2.82 |
| Alaska | 3 | 731,545 | 243,848 | 1.26 |
| Arizona | 11 | 7,278,717 | 661,701 | 3.43 |
| Arkansas | 6 | 3,017,825 | 502,970 | 2.61 |
| California | 55 | 39,512,223 | 718,404 | 3.72 |
| Colorado | 9 | 5,758,736 | 639,859 | 3.31 |
| Connecticut | 7 | 3,565,287 | 509,326 | 2.64 |
| Delaware | 3 | 973,764 | 324,588 | 1.68 |
| DC | 3 | 705,749 | 235,250 | 1.22 |
| Florida | 29 | 21,477,737 | 740,612 | 3.84 |
| Georgia | 16 | 10,617,423 | 663,588 | 3.44 |
| Hawaii | 4 | 1,415,872 | 353,968 | 1.83 |
| Idaho | 4 | 1,787,065 | 446,766 | 2.31 |
| Illinois | 20 | 12,671,821 | 633,591 | 3.28 |
| Indiana | 11 | 6,732,219 | 612,020 | 3.17 |
| Iowa | 6 | 3,155,070 | 525,845 | 2.73 |
| Kansas | 6 | 2,913,314 | 485,552 | 2.52 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 4,467,673 | 558,459 | 2.89 |
| Louisiana | 8 | 4,648,794 | 581,099 | 3.01 |
| Maine | 4 | 1,344,212 | 336,054 | 1.74 |
| Massachusetts | 11 | 6,949,503 | 631,773 | 3.27 |
| Maryland | 10 | 6,045,680 | 604,568 | 3.13 |
| Michigan | 16 | 9,986,857 | 624,179 | 3.24 |
| Minnesota | 10 | 5,639,632 | 563,963 | 2.92 |
| Mississippi | 6 | 2,976,149 | 496,025 | 2.57 |
| Missouri | 10 | 6,137,428 | 613,743 | 3.18 |
| Montana | 3 | 1,068,778 | 356,259 | 1.85 |
| Nebraska | 5 | 1,934,408 | 386,882 | 2.01 |
| Nevada | 6 | 3,080,156 | 513,359 | 2.66 |
| New Hampshire | 4 | 1,359,711 | 339,928 | 1.76 |
| New Jersey | 14 | 8,882,190 | 634,442 | 3.29 |
| New Mexico | 5 | 2,096,829 | 419,366 | 2.17 |
| New York | 29 | 19,453,561 | 670,812 | 3.48 |
| North Carolina | 15 | 10,488,084 | 699,206 | 3.62 |
| North Dakota | 3 | 762,062 | 254,021 | 1.32 |
| Ohio | 18 | 11,689,100 | 649,394 | 3.37 |
| Oklahoma | 7 | 3,956,971 | 565,282 | 2.93 |
| Oregon | 7 | 4,217,737 | 602,533 | 3.12 |
| Pennsylvania | 20 | 12,801,989 | 640,099 | 3.32 |
| Rhode Island | 4 | 1,059,361 | 264,840 | 1.37 |
| South Carolina | 9 | 5,148,714 | 572,079 | 2.97 |
| South Dakota | 3 | 884,659 | 294,886 | 1.53 |
| Tennessee | 11 | 6,833,174 | 621,198 | 3.22 |
| Texas | 38 | 28,995,881 | 763,050 | 3.96 |
| Utah | 6 | 3,205,958 | 534,326 | 2.77 |
| Vermont | 3 | 623,989 | 207,996 | 1.08 |
| Virginia | 13 | 8,535,519 | 656,578 | 3.40 |
| Washington | 12 | 7,614,893 | 634,574 | 3.29 |
| West Virginia | 5 | 1,792,147 | 358,429 | 1.86 |
| Wisconsin | 10 | 5,822,434 | 582,243 | 3.02 |
| Wyoming | 3 | 578,759 | 192,920 | 1.00 |
This table highlights the inequity of the Electoral College. In presidential elections no two states are the same – the impact of one’s vote varies by state. Four states have a ratio over 3.5 – CA, FL, NC, TX. On a population basis when it comes to presidential voting, one resident of Wyoming counts more than 3.5 residents of CA, FL, NC or TX. On the other side of the ledger, there are 13 states with a ratio of less than 2 – AK, DE, DC, HI, ME, MT, NH, ND, RI, SD, VT, WV and of course Wyoming.
While I love New England and especially Wyoming – think the Tetons, Yellowstone and wide-open spaces, it is indefensible that in presidential elections a resident of Rock Springs, Wyoming counts 3.7 times more than a resident of Dallas, Texas or Palos Verdes, California. It’s well past the time to do away with the Electoral College and elect our presidents by direct voting.
Next month I’ll look at how presidential voting may impact statewide races.
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