National polls show President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney in a deadlock in the race for the White House, but projections for the Electoral College map tell a different story.

When Election Day rolls around on Nov. 6, the next president will be decided not by a nationwide poll but by the Electoral College voting system, which requires a candidate to win at least 270 votes to take the election. And despite Romney's lead in countrywide polling data, the GOP nominee has fallen significantly behind on the electoral map.

The Huffington Post's Electoral Map forecast gives a 62-vote advantage to Obama. The president is presently projected to take 253 electoral votes, while his Republican challenger Mitt Romney has 191 votes in his pocket. Romney has fallen behind since Wednesday, when The Huffington Post was projecting that the Republican could safely count on 206 electoral votes.

CLICK HERE to check out The Huffington Post's interactive Electoral College Map.

The Huffington Post's data breaks down the states and their respective electoral votes as follows:

-Strong Obama: 237 electoral votes

-Leans Obama: 16 electoral votes

-Toss Up: 94 electoral votes

-Leans Romney: 0 electoral votes

-Strong Romney: 191 electoral votes

But just like national polls, Electoral College projections can vary widely, and the results are subjective.

While The Huffington Post's data seems to lean decisively toward an Obama victory, projections from national polling firm Rasmussen shows the candidates nearly neck and neck.

As Rasmussen sees the race currently, Obama has 237 electoral votes in his pocket, only 2 votes ahead of Romney, who has 235. That poll shows 66 votes still considered a toss-up.

Rasmussen's electoral breakdown plays out as follows:

-Safe Obama: 172 electoral votes

-Likely Obama: 38 electoral votes

-Leans Obama: 27 electoral votes

-Toss-up: 66 electoral votes

-Leans Romney: 47 electoral votes

-Likely Romney: 21 electoral votes

-Safe Romney: 167 electoral votes

Tags
Barack Obama, Mitt romney, Presidential election 2012