Just wondering - the number of electoral votes in each state is supposed to be proportional to its population. How often is the number of electoral votes updated? If it’s infrequent, is there any significant difference in population per electoral vote? I ask because in my country (Japan) there is often a situation where rural votes are weighted more heavily than urban area votes, because rural areas have lost much of its population to the cities over the years.
I don’t know the answer to your question, but your explanation of the rural gerrymander in Japan is to put it mildly extremely generous. The LDP line farmers’ pockets and the farmers keep them in office.
The electoral votes each state has is equal to the number of its representatives in the House plus its number of Senators (2).
So, every state gets at least 3 votes.
Representation in Congress is changed every ten years after a census is taken. The most recent was taken this year and the data from that will be used to reapportion Congress before the 2002 elections.
So, the electoral votes will change for the 2004 election.
Finally, according to the Constitution, the District of Columbia gets the same number of electors as the least populous state (since it has no representatives or senators). So, DC gets three votes and that’s not likely to change.