Duh! Well I just read something that makes me feel really stupid...

[Tx4obama]

I cannot believe that I did not know how the number of electoral votes each state is determined until I just read the bolded text in the excerpt a few minutes ago...


-snip-

Silver infuriated conservatives with his model, which uses a number of measurements and calculations, including attention to state polls.

Regardless of the national surveys, Obama maintained a steady lead in most of the swing states in the last month, most notably Ohio, without which a Republican has never won the presidency.

U.S. elections are won in the Electoral College, where each state receives votes equaling the total of their two U.S. senators and their number of House representatives. The aggregate data from Real Clear Politics and Pollster.com also showed an Obama advantage in all of the swing states except North Carolina.

-snip-
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/uselection/article/1284100--u-s-election-nate-silver-and-two-university-profs-go-50-0-in-predictions

I am amazed that I did not know that!
It never dawned on me in the past to go look to see how the states ended up with the number of EVs that they have

[arcane1]

1. Don't feel too bad. I knew it was related to state population...

but until just now I didn't know it was specifically the formula in your OP.

We're still both smarter and more politically astute than the best of the teabaggers

[AzDar]

2. I didn't know either!

[MADem]

3. If they based it on population, Wyoming would get ONE!

Nothing there but steers and Dick Cheney's soulless heart.

[JanT]

4. it's ok i didn't know either

until i started to do some research. i have learned a lot of information lately about the "process". Maybe i had civics class in school, but i am afraid i graduated in 1969 and i have slept since then so much of what i learned has not been retained. there is a wealth of information on various Gov web sites and right here on DU i have learned a lot. I believe that if there was a campaign to educate the public more about the political process, that educated people would then make more educated choices and we wouldn't see another campaign as we just went through. There are so many uneducated people out there! It's amazing how much crap was flung around and people really believed it. so sad.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

5. I would venture to guess

that MOST people don't know that simple formula...+3 electors for Washington DC.

[Historic NY]

6. Its all arithmetic!!