Winner-Take-All States 2025

State	Winner Takes All State↓	State Is Part of National Popular Vote Compact (as of Jan. 2025)	# of Electoral Votes
Alabama	Yes	No	9
Alaska	Yes	No	3
Arizona	Yes	No	11
Arkansas	Yes	No	6
California	Yes	Yes	54
Colorado	Yes	Yes	10
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	7
Delaware	Yes	Yes	3
District of Columbia	Yes	Yes	3
Florida	Yes	No	30
Georgia	Yes	No	16
Hawaii	Yes	Yes	4
Idaho	Yes	No	4
Illinois	Yes	Yes	19
Indiana	Yes	No	11
Iowa	Yes	No	6
Kansas	Yes	No	6
Kentucky	Yes	No	8
Louisiana	Yes	No	8
Maryland	Yes	Yes	10
Massachusetts	Yes	Yes	11
Michigan	Yes	No	15
Minnesota	Yes	Yes	10
Mississippi	Yes	No	6
Missouri	Yes	No	10
Montana	Yes	No	4
Nebraska	Yes	No	5
Nevada	Yes	No	6
New Hampshire	Yes	No	4
New Jersey	Yes	Yes	14
New Mexico	Yes	Yes	5
New York	Yes	Yes	28
North Carolina	Yes	No	16
North Dakota	Yes	No	3
Ohio	Yes	No	17
Oklahoma	Yes	No	7
Oregon	Yes	Yes	8
Pennsylvania	Yes	No	19
Rhode Island	Yes	Yes	4
South Carolina	Yes	No	9
South Dakota	Yes	No	3
Tennessee	Yes	No	11
Texas	Yes	No	40
Utah	Yes	No	6
Virginia	Yes	No	13
Washington	Yes	Yes	12
West Virginia	Yes	No	4
Wisconsin	Yes	No	10
Wyoming	Yes	No	3
Maine	No	Yes	4
Vermont	No	Yes	3

State

Winner Takes All State↓

State Is Part of National Popular Vote Compact (as of Jan. 2025)

# of Electoral Votes

Yes

Yes

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Yes

Yes

Yes

Apart from Nebraska and Maine, all other 48 states plus the District of Columbia are winner take all states. In the 48 winner-take-all states, all their electoral votes go to the candidate who wins the popular vote in the state.

Effect of Winner Take All States in U.S. Elections

Customarily, the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote in a winner-takes-all state gets all the electoral votes. A candidate needs to gather a majority of the electoral votes to win the presidential election. There’s a total of 538 electoral votes. Therefore, a candidate needs to garner 270 votes to become president. This is to say that the votes of the Electoral College decide who becomes president.

The only two states that don’t follow the winner take it all system, Nebraska and Maine, have five and four electoral votes each. Nebraska - 5 votes. Maine - 4 votes. In Maine and Nebraska, the electoral votes are proportionally distributed based on a candidate’s performance in each congressional district and the state-wide performance.

Drawbacks of the Winner-take-all System.

1. Under-representation of the Minority

In voting districts with a substantial population of minorities, they are severely under-represented in a winner-take-all system. Even if their preferred candidate wins the popular vote nationally but loses in their state, their votes will not count.

Minorities voting in a state dominated by one political viewpoint in a winner take all state may never have their say unless they subscribe to the prevalent ideology. Being minorities, the popular political view may not accommodate their interests.

2. Even the Majority may Lose in a Winner-Take-All System

In a winner-take-all system, even the majority may not have their way sometimes. A candidate can win the popular vote nationally but lose the electoral vote and fail to clinch the presidency besides getting the most votes. This happened in the 2016 and 2000 elections.

3. It Fosters Under Voting

People living in winner take all states may not be motivated to vote, more so if they don’t share the popular opinion in their state. Since it’s already pre-determined that the electoral votes will go to the candidate who gets the popular vote in the state, those who support a different candidate may be dispirited to vote.