2010 Census Reapportionment: As has been the case since 1972, North Dakota will remain at 3 electoral votes through the 2020 presidential election.

North Dakota joined the Union in November 1889, one of four states admitted in the first part of that month, the busiest period of new-statehood creation in U.S. history. North Dakota has participated in 31 presidential elections, voting Republican in 25 of them. Of the five times it went “blue,” only 1916 (Woodrow Wilson’s second-term victory) was not a landslide for the Democratic candidate. As a result, North Dakota is a very safe state for the Republicans in presidential elections. In 2012, Mitt Romney defeated Barack Obama by a 58% to 39% margin. The state’s population of about 673,000 is little changed from what it was in 1920. As a result, North Dakota is one of seven states with the minimum three electoral votes.