the Electoral College
for 25 Years!
1999 - 2024
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1800: FIRST 35 HOUSE VOTES | FINAL HOUSE VOTE
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Thomas Jefferson Party: DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN Electoral Votes: 73 |
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Aaron Burr Party: DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN Electoral Votes: 73 |
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John Adams Party: FEDERALIST Electoral Votes: 65 |
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Charles C. Pinckney Party: FEDERALIST Electoral Votes: 64 |
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Other Candidates
John Jay |
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Electoral College Vote Total (from 16 states) - 138 electors / 276 votes Majority needed to win - 70
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In the first four presidential elections, electors cast two votes for president. There was no separate vote for vice president. Whichever candidate appeared on a majority of the electors' ballots was named the winner, while the runner-up became vice-president. That's a workable system when their are no political parties. But with the rise of established political factions running a team of presidential and vice-presidential running mates, that system required a little manipulating to get the desired result. The Federalists ensured one of their electors voted for someone else for vice-president so their preferred presidential candidate wouldn't be in a tie. The Democratic-Republicans made similar plans, but for some reason didn't follow through. That left Thomas Jefferson knotted up with his running-mate Aaron Burr at 73 electoral votes each.
According to the Constitution, in such a case the House of Representatives was to decide the winner, with each state getting a single vote and a majority (nine of the sixteen states) needed to win. Jefferson faced two problems going in to that vote. Burr decided he didn't have to settle with being vice-president. And the outgoing Federalist-majority Congress would be the ones voting.
On the first ballot Burr received six of the eight votes from Federalist-controlled delegations. Jefferson held all seven of the Democratic-Republican-controlled delegations. He also got the vote of one of the southern Federalist-controlled delegations. Two states did not cast a vote due to a tie in their representatives' voting. Jefferson was one vote short of the presidency.
Over the next seven days the House of Representatives voted 34 more times! And each overall vote ended the same: 8-6-2.
Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton was no friend to either Jefferson or Burr. But he had concluded that Jefferson was the lesser of two evils, and began to convince his allies to end the deadlock in Jefferson's favor.
Finally, on February 17th, on the 35th ballot, and just 15 days before the inauguration, it was over. Federalist representatives in Delaware, Maryland, Vermont, and South Carolina changed their votes from Burr to abstentions. That moved South Carolina and Delaware to the "No Vote" column, and Vermont and Maryland to Jefferson. The final tally was ten states for Jefferson, four for Burr, and two casting blank ballots.
Due to the issues in 1800 and the previous election in 1796 (where the president and vice-president ended up being political rivals from two different parties), the 12th Amendment was ratified in 1804. It changed the system so that each elector voted for only one candidate for president and another specifically as vice-president.
see important notes below the table
| STATE | JEFFERSON | BURR | ADAMS | PINCKNEY | JAY | |
| CONNECTICUT (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
9 | 9 | ||||
| CT ELECTORS | Matthew Griswold, Jonathan Ingersoll, Stephen M. Mitchell, Jonathan Ogden Moseley, Tapping Reeve, Jesse Root, Jonathan Sturges, John Treadwell, Jonathan Trumbull |
Matthew Griswold, Jonathan Ingersoll, Stephen M. Mitchell, Jonathan Ogden Moseley, Tapping Reeve, Jesse Root, Jonathan Sturges, John Treadwell, Jonathan Trumbull |
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| DELAWARE (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
3 | 3 | ||||
| DE ELECTORS | Kensey Johns, Nathaniel Mitchell, Samuel White |
Kensey Johns, Nathaniel Mitchell, Samuel White |
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| GEORGIA (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
4 | 4 | ||||
| GA ELECTORS | David Blackshear, Henry Graybill, John Morrison, Dennis Smelt |
David Blackshear, Henry Graybill, John Morrison, Dennis Smelt |
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| KENTUCKY (POPULAR VOTE, DISTRICT) |
4 | 4 | ||||
| KY ELECTORS | John Coburn, John Pope, Charles Scott, Issac Shelby |
John Coburn, John Pope, Charles Scott, Issac Shelby |
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| MARYLAND (POPULAR VOTE, DISTRICT) |
5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||
| MD ELECTORS | Gabriel Duvall, John Gilpin, Martin Kershner, Nicholas R. Moore, Perry Spencer |
Gabriel Duvall, John Gilpin, Martin Kershner, Nicholas R. Moore, Perry Spencer |
Francis Deakins, Littleton Dennis, George Murdock, Edmund Plowden, William M. Robertson |
Francis Deakins, Littleton Dennis, George Murdock, Edmund Plowden, William M. Robertson |
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| MASSACHUSETTS (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
16 | 16 | ||||
| MA ELECTORS | Joseph Allen, William Baylies, Theophilus Bradbury, Francis Dana, Thomas Dawes, Andrew P. Fernald, John Hooker, Ebenezer Hunt, Samuel Phillips, Edward H. Robbins, David Rosseter, William Sever, Samuel Sewall, Walter Spooner, Lemuel Weeks, Samuel Sumner Wilde |
Joseph Allen, William Baylies, Theophilus Bradbury, Francis Dana, Thomas Dawes, Andrew P. Fernald, John Hooker, Ebenezer Hunt, Samuel Phillips, Edward H. Robbins, David Rosseter, William Sever, Samuel Sewall, Walter Spooner, Lemuel Weeks, Samuel Sumner Wilde |
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| NEW HAMPSHIRE (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
6 | 6 | ||||
| NH ELECTORS | Benjamin Bellows, Timothy Farrar, Arthur Livermore, Oliver Peabody, John Prentice, Ebenezer Thompson |
Benjamin Bellows, Timothy Farrar, Arthur Livermore, Oliver Peabody, John Prentice, Ebenezer Thompson |
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| NEW JERSEY (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
7 | 7 | ||||
| NJ ELECTORS | William Griffith, Joshua L. Howell, Thomas Sinnickson, Isssac Smith, Samuel S. Smith, Richard Stockton, Matthias Williamson, Jr. |
William Griffith, Joshua L. Howell, Thomas Sinnickson, Isssac Smith, Samuel S. Smith, Richard Stockton, Matthias Williamson, Jr. |
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| NEW YORK (LEGISLATURE) |
12 | 12 | ||||
| NY ELECTORS | James Burt, Jacob Eaker, Robert Ellis, William Floyd, Thomas Jenkins, Issac Ledyard, Anthony Lispenard, Gilbert Livingston, Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr., Peter Van Ness, Robert Van Rensselaer, John Woodworth |
James Burt, Jacob Eaker, Robert Ellis, William Floyd, Thomas Jenkins, Issac Ledyard, Anthony Lispenard, Gilbert Livingston, Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr., Peter Van Ness, Robert Van Rensselaer, John Woodworth |
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| NORTH CAROLINA (POPULAR VOTE, DISTRICT) |
8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | ||
| NC ELECTORS | Gideon Alston, John Hamilton, William Tate, Absalom Tatom, Joseph Taylor, Bryan Whitfield, Joseph Winston, Thomas Wynns |
Gideon Alston, John Hamilton, William Tate, Absalom Tatom, Joseph Taylor, Bryan Whitfield, Joseph Winston, Thomas Wynns |
Thomas Brown, Spruce Macay, William Martin, Nathan Mayo |
Thomas Brown, Spruce Macay, William Martin, Nathan Mayo |
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| PENNSYLVANIA (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | ||
| PA ELECTORS | Nathaniel B. Boileau (or Borleau), Jonas Hartzell, Gabriel Hiester, Issac Van Horne, John Kean, Presley Carr Lane, Samuel Wetherill, Robert Whitehill |
Nathaniel B. Boileau (or Borleau), Jonas Hartzell, Gabriel Hiester, Issac Van Horne, John Kean, Presley Carr Lane, Samuel Wetherill, Robert Whitehill |
James Armstrong, James Crawford, Sr., George Ege, Samuel W. Fisher, William Hall, John Hubley, Frederick Kuhn |
James Armstrong, James Crawford, Sr., George Ege, Samuel W. Fisher, William Hall, John Hubley, Frederick Kuhn |
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| RHODE ISLAND (POPULAR VOTE, AT-LARGE) |
4 | 3 | 1 | |||
| RI ELECTORS | George Champlin, Oliver Davis, William Greene, Edward Manton |
unknown which three of Adams' electors also voted for Pinckney |
unknown which one of Adams' electors also voted for Jay |
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| SOUTH CAROLINA (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
8 | 8 | ||||
| SC ELECTORS | Robert Anderson, Joseph Blyth, Theodore Gaillard, Paul Hamilton, Wade Hampton, John Hunter, Andrew Love, Arthur Simkins |
Robert Anderson, Joseph Blyth, Theodore Gaillard, Paul Hamilton, Wade Hampton, John Hunter, Andrew Love, Arthur Simkins |
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| TENNESSEE (LEGISLATURE/DISTRICT MIX) |
3 | 3 | ||||
| TN ELECTORS | John Locke, Robert Love, Daniel Smith |
John Locke, Robert Love, Daniel Smith |
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| VERMONT (LEGISLATURE VOTE) |
4 | 4 | ||||
| VT ELECTORS | William Chamberlain, Elijah Dewey, Roswell Hopkins, Jonathan Hunt |
William Chamberlain, Elijah Dewey, Roswell Hopkins, Jonathan Hunt |
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| VIRGINIA (POPULAR VOTE, AT-LARGE) |
21 | 21 | ||||
| VA ELECTORS | John Bowyer, Richard Brent, John Brown, William H. Cabell, Daniel Coleman, William Ellzey, William B. Giles, Hugh Holmes, Joseph Jones, Walter Jones, James Madison, Jr., William Newsum, Thomas Newton, John Page, George Penn, John Preston, Thomas Reade, Sr., John Shore, Archibald Stuart, Creed Taylor, George Wythe |
John Bowyer, Richard Brent, John Brown, William H. Cabell, Daniel Coleman, William Ellzey, William B. Giles, Hugh Holmes, Joseph Jones, Walter Jones, James Madison, Jr., William Newsum, Thomas Newton, John Page, George Penn, John Preston, Thomas Reade, Sr., John Shore, Archibald Stuart, Creed Taylor, George Wythe |
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| TOTAL VOTE | 73 | 73 | 65 | 64 | 1 | |
Unlike today, in the first four elections electors cast two votes for president. There was no separate vote for vice president. Whichever candidate appeared on a majority of the electors' ballots was named the winner, while the runner-up became vice-president.
In early elections, the states used several different methods to choose electors. In some, the state legislature picked the electors. In others, the people chose the electors directly (via a winner-take-all statewide at-large vote, a system where voters in districts chose individual electors, or a combination of the two). In Tennessee, the legislature appointed several people in each district to choose the electors.
State-by-state popular vote data is not available for early elections due to a lack of reliable and uniform data. Most historians use 1824 as the starting date for those numbers because of, what a Congressional Quarterly publication calls, the "availability, accessibility, and quality" of the returns since then.
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© 1999-2024 James R Whitson