You’ve probably heard a dozen different numbers tossed around when people talk about the last big election. It gets messy. Between the recounts, the court cases, and the cable news cycle, the actual math sometimes feels like it’s buried under a mountain of noise.
So, let’s just cut to the chase.
Joe Biden received 306 electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election.
It wasn't a guess. It wasn't a "maybe." That was the final, certified number that sent him to the White House. To win the presidency, a candidate needs a minimum of 270. Biden cleared that bar with 36 votes to spare. Interestingly, this was the exact same number—306—that Donald Trump reached in 2016, which Trump famously referred to as a "landslide" at the time.
Breaking Down the 2020 Scoreboard
The U.S. doesn't have one big election. It has 51 smaller ones (the states plus D.C.). Biden’s path to 306 was built on reclaiming what many call the "Blue Wall" in the Midwest, while also picking up a couple of traditional Republican strongholds.
He didn't just win; he flipped the map.
Arizona was a huge shocker for many. It was the first time a Democrat had won there since Bill Clinton in 1996. Then you had Georgia. That state hadn't gone blue since 1992. When you add those to the "Rust Belt" trio of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the math for the 2020 election started looking very lopsided.
Here is how the heavy hitters landed in Biden's column:
California brought in a massive 55 votes. New York handed over 29. Illinois chipped in 20, and Pennsylvania provided another 20. Michigan and Georgia both added 16 apiece.
🔗 Read more: Johnny Somali AI Deepfake: What Really Happened in South Korea
On the other side, Donald Trump ended up with 232 electoral votes. He kept big prizes like Texas (38 votes) and Florida (29 votes), but it wasn't enough to overcome the losses in the suburbs of the Sun Belt and the industrial North.
The Popular Vote vs. The Electoral College
It is kind of wild when you look at the raw human beings involved. Biden didn't just win the Electoral College; he won the popular vote by more than 7 million people.
His total was 81,283,501 votes.
That is the most any candidate has ever received in American history. Trump also broke records, getting 74,223,975 votes—the most ever for a sitting president or a losing candidate. Basically, everyone showed up. Turnout was at its highest level in over a century.
Why the 306 Number Is So Significant
Honestly, the number 306 has become a bit of a political Rorschach test.
For Democrats, it was a clear mandate. For Republicans, it remains a point of intense debate. But if we look at the official records from the National Archives, the count is black and white. On December 14, 2020, electors met in their respective states to cast their physical ballots. There were no "faithless electors" in Biden’s tally—everyone who was supposed to vote for him did.
The Swing State Margin
While 306 looks like a comfortable margin, the election was actually decided by a razor-thin number of people in a few places.
💡 You might also like: Sweden School Shooting 2025: What Really Happened at Campus Risbergska
If you look at Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin, Biden won those three states by a combined total of about 43,000 votes. If those 43,000 people had stayed home or swapped sides, the Electoral College would have ended in a 269-269 tie. That would have sent the whole thing to the House of Representatives.
Democracy is a lot more fragile—and math-dependent—than we usually realize.
What Actually Happened on January 6?
You can't talk about how many electoral votes did Joe Biden get in 2020 without mentioning the final certification. Usually, this is a boring ceremony where the Vice President opens envelopes and reads numbers.
In 2021, it was anything but.
Despite the chaos at the Capitol, Congress returned to the floor late that night. Around 3:40 AM on January 7, Vice President Mike Pence officially announced the count: 306 for Biden, 232 for Trump. That was the legal "finish line."
How the Electoral College Works (The Short Version)
Most people think they're voting for a person. Technically, you're voting for a "slate of electors."
Each state gets a number of electors equal to its total Congressional delegation (Senators + Representatives). This is why California is a gold mine and Wyoming only has three. Most states use a "winner-take-all" system. If you win Pennsylvania by one single vote, you get all 20 of its electoral votes.
📖 Related: Will Palestine Ever Be Free: What Most People Get Wrong
Only Maine and Nebraska do it differently. They split their votes. In 2020, Biden actually picked up one lone electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District (the area around Omaha), even though Trump won the rest of the state. It’s those little details that get you to that final 306.
Moving Forward
The 2020 results changed the way campaigns look at the map. The old "Red State/Blue State" divide is blurring in places like the Southwest and the Deep South.
If you want to dig deeper into these numbers, your best bet is to look at the official FEC (Federal Election Commission) reports or the National Archives' electoral records. They provide the most granular look at how your specific county contributed to the total. Understanding these mechanics is the only way to cut through the spin you see on social media.
The 306 votes Biden secured weren't just a number; they were a roadmap of where the American electorate moved in a period of massive social and economic upheaval.
To stay informed for future cycles, keep an eye on census shifts. Because of population changes, the number of electoral votes each state has actually changed for the 2024 and 2028 elections. California, for instance, lost a seat for the first time ever, while states like Texas and Florida gained them. The math is always moving.
Actionable Insights for Following Election Data:
- Check Official Sources: Always verify counts through the Federal Election Commission (FEC) or the National Archives.
- Understand Reapportionment: Remember that the 306-232 split from 2020 is based on the 2010 Census. The map has been redrawn since then.
- Watch the Margins: Focus on "tipping point" states rather than the national popular vote if you want to predict who will actually take office.
- Follow State Certification: The real "win" happens at the state level weeks after Election Day, not when the news networks call it.