Add user points to author for every up vote received to content using Rate module
I recommend to go for a combination of these often used modules to add (or subtract) user points when some node is voted up (or down):


Voting API.
Rules.
Voting Rules (attention: alfa version only).
User Points.


It's also the approach used in the Answers module (disclosure: I'm a co-maintainer of it), i.e. within its submodule "Answers Userpoints". If you agree, read on ...

Required Rules

To handle all variations of voting, you need 4 rules (only!), which cover these 4 cases:


a node is upvoted.
an upvote for a node is canceled (= no longer upvoted).
a node is downvoted.
a downvote for a node is canceled (= no longer downvoted).


Below are the required rules, for each of these cases (use the Rules UI to import them in your own site, after you enabled the required modules mentioned above). These rules are enhanced versions of the rules included in the 7.x-4.0-rc2 version of Answers (and are expected to be committed to its dev version also). They use a content type with machine name answers_question (adapt this name to fit your own machine name).

Have a close look at how user points are added (or subtracted), and also who gains (or looses) those points. Obviously, then actual amounts of userpoints can be adapted in those rules to fit your own needs.

Upvote a node

The rule below will grant +5 user points for an upvote (to the author of the node):

{ "rules_voteup_question" : {
    "LABEL" : "voteup_question",
    "PLUGIN" : "reaction rule",
    "OWNER" : "rules",
    "TAGS" : [ "answers" ],
    "REQUIRES" : [ "rules", "voting_rules", "userpoints_rules" ],
    "ON" : { "voting_rules_insert_node" : [] },
    "IF" : [
      { "node_is_of_type" : {
          "node" : [ "node" ],
          "type" : { "value" : { "answers_question" : "answers_question" } }
        }
      },
      { "voting_rules_condition_check_vote_value" : { "vote" : [ "vote" ], "value" : "1" } }
    ],
    "DO" : [
      { "userpoints_action_grant_points" : {
          "user" : [ "node:author" ],
          "points" : "5",
          "tid" : "0",
          "entity" : [ "" ],
          "description" : "Receive upvote to [node:type-name] \u0022[node:title]\u0022",
          "operation" : "QuestionUpvoteReceived",
          "reference" : "By uid=[vote:uid], for [node:type-name] to q=\u003Ca href=\u0022\/node\/[node:nid]\u0022\u003E[node:title]\u003C\/a\u003E",
          "display" : "1",
          "moderate" : "default"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}


Cancel the upvote a node

The rule below will grant -5 (= remove +5) user points for a cancelled upvote (to the author of the node):

{ "rules_voteup_question_cancel" : {
    "LABEL" : "voteup_question_cancel",
    "PLUGIN" : "reaction rule",
    "OWNER" : "rules",
    "TAGS" : [ "answers" ],
    "REQUIRES" : [ "rules", "voting_rules", "userpoints_rules" ],
    "ON" : { "voting_rules_delete_node" : [] },
    "IF" : [
      { "node_is_of_type" : {
          "node" : [ "node" ],
          "type" : { "value" : { "answers_question" : "answers_question" } }
        }
      },
      { "voting_rules_condition_check_vote_value" : { "vote" : [ "vote" ], "value" : "1" } }
    ],
    "DO" : [
      { "userpoints_action_grant_points" : {
          "user" : [ "node:author" ],
          "points" : "-5",
          "tid" : "0",
          "entity" : [ "" ],
          "description" : "Unupvote [node:type-name] \u0022[node:title]\u0022",
          "operation" : "QuestionUpvoteCancelled",
          "reference" : "By uid=[vote:uid], for [node:type-name] to q=\u003Ca href=\u0022\/node\/[node:nid]\u0022\u003E[node:title]\u003C\/a\u003E",
          "display" : "1",
          "moderate" : "default"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}


Downvote a node

The rule below will subtract -2 (grant -2) user points for a downvote (to the author of the node) ... AND also -1 user point for the voter:

{ "rules_votedown_question" : {
    "LABEL" : "votedown_question",
    "PLUGIN" : "reaction rule",
    "OWNER" : "rules",
    "TAGS" : [ "answers" ],
    "REQUIRES" : [ "rules", "voting_rules", "userpoints_rules" ],
    "ON" : { "voting_rules_insert_node" : [] },
    "IF" : [
      { "node_is_of_type" : {
          "node" : [ "node" ],
          "type" : { "value" : { "answers_question" : "answers_question" } }
        }
      },
      { "voting_rules_condition_check_vote_value" : { "vote" : [ "vote" ], "value" : "-1" } }
    ],
    "DO" : [
      { "userpoints_action_grant_points" : {
          "user" : [ "node:author" ],
          "points" : "-2",
          "tid" : "0",
          "entity" : [ "" ],
          "description" : "Receive downvote to [node:type-name] \u0022[node:title]\u0022",
          "operation" : "QuestionDownvoteReceived",
          "reference" : "By uid=[vote:uid], for [node:type-name] to q=\u003Ca href=\u0022\/node\/[node:nid]\u0022\u003E[node:title]\u003C\/a\u003E",
          "display" : "1",
          "moderate" : "default"
        }
      },
      { "userpoints_action_grant_points" : {
          "user" : [ "vote:user" ],
          "points" : "-1",
          "tid" : "0",
          "entity" : [ "" ],
          "description" : "Issue downvote to [node:type-name] \u0022[node:title]\u0022",
          "operation" : "QuestionDownvoteIssued",
          "reference" : "From uid=[node:author:uid], for [node:type-name] to q=\u003Ca href=\u0022\/node\/[node:nid]\u0022\u003E[node:title]\u003C\/a\u003E",
          "display" : "1",
          "moderate" : "default"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}


Cancel the downvote a node

The rule below will grant +2 (= remove -2) user points for a cancelled downvote (to the author of the node) ... AND also +1 user point for the voter:

{ "rules_votedown_question_cancel" : {
    "LABEL" : "votedown_question_cancel",
    "PLUGIN" : "reaction rule",
    "OWNER" : "rules",
    "TAGS" : [ "answers" ],
    "REQUIRES" : [ "rules", "voting_rules", "userpoints_rules" ],
    "ON" : { "voting_rules_delete_node" : [] },
    "IF" : [
      { "node_is_of_type" : {
          "node" : [ "node" ],
          "type" : { "value" : { "answers_question" : "answers_question" } }
        }
      },
      { "voting_rules_condition_check_vote_value" : { "vote" : [ "vote" ], "value" : "-1" } }
    ],
    "DO" : [
      { "userpoints_action_grant_points" : {
          "user" : [ "node:author" ],
          "points" : "2",
          "tid" : "0",
          "entity" : [ "" ],
          "description" : "Cancel downvote to [node:type-name] \u0022[node:title]\u0022",
          "operation" : "QuestionDownvoteCancelled",
          "reference" : "By uid=[vote:uid], for [node:type-name] to q=\u003Ca href=\u0022\/node\/[node:nid]\u0022\u003E[node:title]\u003C\/a\u003E",
          "display" : "1",
          "moderate" : "default"
        }
      },
      { "userpoints_action_grant_points" : {
          "user" : [ "vote:user" ],
          "points" : "1",
          "tid" : "0",
          "entity" : [ "" ],
          "description" : "Withdraw downvote to [node:type-name] \u0022[node:title]\u0022",
          "operation" : "QuestionDownvoteWithdrawn",
          "reference" : "From uid=[node:author:uid], for [node:type-name] to q=\u003Ca href=\u0022\/node\/[node:nid]\u0022\u003E[node:title]\u003C\/a\u003E",
          "display" : "1",
          "moderate" : "default"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}