Who Won the 2024 US Presidential Election? Electoral Vote Explained
Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, and Congress counted 312 electoral votes for Trump and 226 for Kamala Harris on January 6, 2025.
Timeline
- November 5, 2024: Voters cast ballots in the presidential election.
- December 17, 2024: Presidential electors met in their states to cast electoral votes.
- January 6, 2025: Congress counted the electoral votes in joint session.
Donald J. Trump won the 2024 United States presidential election. During the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2025, the electoral votes were counted as 312 for Trump and 226 for Kamala D. Harris. A majority of the 538 appointed electors required 270 votes. [1][2]
The United States formally chooses the president through the Electoral College rather than a single national popular-vote total. Voters select slates of electors under state law, those electors meet and cast ballots, and certificates are sent for the congressional count. Media projections can identify the likely winner earlier but are not the constitutional count. [1][2]
Trump’s 312 votes exceeded the 270 needed for a majority, while Harris received 226. The same state-by-state allocation produced 312 vice-presidential votes for J.D. Vance and 226 for Tim Walz. Congress’s recorded totals provide the settled electoral result rather than an estimate or forecast. [1]
The joint session is presided over by the vice president in the role of President of the Senate. Designated tellers read and total certificates from the states and District of Columbia. The presiding officer then announces the result, which is sufficient under law to declare the persons elected president and vice president. [1][2]
Federal law permits objections to a state’s electoral votes only under limited grounds and procedures. An objection must satisfy signature and written requirements, and the chambers consider it separately. The 2024 count was completed with the full 538-vote total reflected in the Congressional Record. [1][2]
Certification on January 6 did not itself begin the presidential term. The Twentieth Amendment sets January 20 as the start of the new presidential and vice-presidential terms. The count confirms who was elected; the inauguration and oath mark the transition into office on the constitutionally specified date. [1][2]
Popular-vote totals, turnout and county results answer different questions from the electoral count. They can explain voting patterns but do not replace the 312–226 constitutional result. A concise answer to who won should therefore name Trump and preserve the certified electoral-vote figures and date. [1][2]
Sources
- Congressional Record — counting the 2024 electoral votes
- Congressional Research Service — joint session for counting electoral votes