Mr. Raudkivi's statement needs a correction. In addition to the number of electors determined by the number of members it sends to the House of Representatives (a total of 435), each state elects two electors who represent the number of its senators. This gives us a total of 535 electors. District of Columbia is not a state but is entitled to three electors based on the XXIII Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1961. Thus the electoral college consists of 538 members. Except for Maine and Nebraska, as noted by Mr. Raudkivi, all electoral votes of a state go to the candidate who gets the plurality of the statewide votes. For example, my state Maryland has 8 representatives and 2 senators, thus it is entitled to 10 electors. John Kerry received 53% of the votes and thus all 10 electors. 270 votes are required for the election of the president.