Florida has 30 electoral votes. Here's how the Electoral College works for the state.
In the United States, the Electoral College determines who will become president and vice president, according to the U.S. Constitution. Florida has 30 of the 538 Electoral College votes in the 2024 election.
The number of votes in each state are based on the number of U.S. House members and two senators. The House numbers are updated every 10 years based on the U.S. Census.
How many Electoral College votes has Florida had in past elections?
Florida has the third-most Electoral College voters, behind California, which has 54, and Texas, which has 40. New York is behind Florida with 28.
Since the first voting in 1848 in Florida, Democrats have won in 25 elections, including consecutively from 1880 to 1924. Republicans have won in 17 elections.
Florida had 29 Electoral College votes in the 2012, 2016 and 2020 elections. It had 27 in 2004 and 2008, and 25 in 1992, 1996 and 2000. The state started with three in 1848 when the Whig candidate, Zachary Taylor, won in the state and nation. There was no election in 1864 when Florida seceded from the United States.
Since 2000, Republicans have won four times in the state and Democrats three. George W. Bush won in 2000 and 2004, while Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012, Donald Trump had the most votes in 2016 and 2020.
In 2000, the state's 25 electoral votes were awarded to Bush over candidate Al Gore, with a margin of 537 votes out of more than 5.8 million cast in the state, when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling ended a Florida vote recount. That gave Bush enough Electoral College votes to win the presidential election.
How does Florida award its Electoral College votes?
In Florida, it's winner takes all for the candidate with the most votes. This is the case in every state except Nebraska and Maine, which awards its votes based on who won in congressional districts.
How are Florida's Electoral College members chosen after the election?
Florida's political parties each appoint a group of electors, who have "taken a written oath that he or she will vote for the candidates of the party that he or she is nominated to represent," according to the 2024 Florida Statutes.
On the Tuesday following the second Wednesday of December, each state's electors of the party with the most certified votes will meet in their respective state capitals and cast their votes – one for president and one for vice president. This year the date is Dec. 17.
On Jan. 6, a joint session of Congress meets to officially count the electoral votes and announce the winner with at least 270 votes. This process is presided over by the vice president, in his or her role as president of the Senate, who then announces the official winner.