Each state receives as many electoral votes as it has ___________?

The correct answer is that each state receives as many electoral votes as it has representatives. In the United States, the Electoral College is composed of a total of 538 electors, and each state’s number of electoral votes is determined by the sum of its senators and representatives in Congress. Every state has two senators, but the number of representatives varies based on the state's population, which is determined every ten years by the census. Therefore, the number of representatives directly impacts the number of electoral votes a state can cast during the presidential election.

This structure emphasizes the importance of population in the legislative representation and hence electoral power. Smaller states benefit slightly by having a minimum of three electoral votes (two senators and at least one representative), while larger states have a greater number of votes proportional to their population size. Understanding this electoral system is crucial to grasping how presidential elections operate in the U.S.