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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Wisconsin’s federal and state representatives are elected directly through popular vote. The winner is the candidate who receives the largest share — or plurality — of the popular vote in their electoral district, even if it’s less than 50%, which can happen when three or more candidates are running for the same position.

In general elections, the president and the vice president are elected through the Electoral College process. Each state receives one electoral vote for each of its members in the House and Senate. Wisconsin has eight Congressional members, based on its population, and two senators, for a total of 10 electoral votes. It takes 270 electoral votes to become president.

Wisconsin — like all states except Maine and Nebraska — awards all of its electors to the presidential candidate who wins the state’s popular vote. That’s why a candidate can lose the national popular vote — but still win the presidency.

Sources

USA.gov: Presidential election process

Ballotpedia: Electoral systems in Wisconsin

National Archives: What is the Electoral College?

National Archives: About the electors

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Jacob Alabab-Moser joined as Wisconsin Watch’s fact checker in September 2022, as part of the effort by The Gigafact Project in partnership with different state-level news outlets to combat misinformation in the 2022 midterm elections. Jacob has several years of experience as a fact checker and research assistant at a variety of organizations, including at The Gigafact Project. He holds a BA from Brown University and is pursuing a MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science.