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jimrtex
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« on: February 18, 2005, 08:28:30 PM »
« edited: March 04, 2005, 04:31:10 AM by jimrtex »

4 more states had joined the Union, NC and RI, the final two of the 13 to ratify the Constitution, and two new states, VT and KY.  In addition, NY managed to choose its electors.  There was a slight retrenchment in popular election of electors.  In RI, NY, NC, and VT, the legislature chose the electors.  DE switched from popular election to legislative election.  KY continued the popular election tradition that it had followed as part of VA.

While only 6 of 15 states, used popular election, they represented a majority, 70 of 132 electors chosen.  While Washington was again the unanimous choice of the electors, there was a race for the Vice Presidency, with John Adams defeating George Clinton of New York 77 to 50.  Clinton was the choice of the electors from GA, NY, NY, and VA. 

The election saw the only time in US history where electors have voted for two candidates from the same state.  Kentucky's 4 electors cast their votes for Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  This is legal as the Constitutional restriction is against voting for two candidates from your own state.

Electors chosen by the Legislature
RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, NC, SC, GA, and VT.

New Hampshire (6 electors)
New Hampshire elected its electors statewide.  There were fewer candidates than 1788/9 and it appears that they all received the majority needed for election.

Massachusetts (16 electors)
Massachusetts chose its electors from 4 multi-member electoral districts.  There were no statewide electors.  If a candidate did not receive a majority, the electors were chosen by the legislature.  Ultimately, the voters only chose 5 electors.  The electoral districts.

Suffolk-Essex-Middlesex (5 electors, 3 received majority).  Suffolk still included Norfolk.

Hampshire-Berkshire-Worcester (5 electors, 0 with majority)
Hampshire included all 3 modern Connecticut river districts.

Barnstable-Bristol-Plymouth-Dukes-Nantucket (3 electors, 2 with majority)

District of Maine (3 electors, 0 with majority)

Pennsylvania (15 electors)
The electors were chosen statewide.  The Federalist candidates (supporting Adams rather Clinton) received about 70% of the vote.

Maryland (8 electors)
The Federalists won with 898 votes.  It appears the franchise had been restricted from that of 1788/9.

Virginia (21 electors)
One elector was chosen from each of 21 electoral districts, no returns were located.

Kentucky (4 electors)
Two electors were chosen from each of 2 electoral districts.
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A18
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« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2005, 12:38:00 AM »

Why do you say 1788/9? Weren't the popular elections held on the same day?

Also, what do you mean the candidates were chosen statewide in New Hampshire. The electors?
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jimrtex
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« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2005, 04:29:58 AM »

Why do you say 1788/9? Weren't the popular elections held on the same day?
The Constitutional Convention was a bit irregular.  They were only supposed to be proposing amendments to the Articles of Confederation.   They didn't want to completely bypass the Continental Congress, so they had George Washington, who was presiding officer of the convention, send the proposed Consitution to the Congress and request that they forward it to the people of the 13 States for their consideration (the ratifying conventions in the States bypassed the legislatures).  The Congress was also asked to trigger the start up of the government in event that the Constitution was ratified by 9 States. 

The Constitution was proposed in September 1787 and by the summer of 1788, 9 States had ratified the Constitution.   The Continental Congress the first Wednesday in March, 1789 as the day that the Congress would meet.  It set the first Wednesday in February, 1789 for the electors to meet in their respective States to cast their electoral votes., and it set the First Wednesday in January, 1789 for the electors to be chosen.  So as it turns out, the electors for the first election were chosen in 1789.  Some sources date the election as 1789, while the one I was using used 1788/89.  I don't know whether this was to maintain the pattern of an election every 4 years, or whether some states actually chose their electors in 1788.

Congress (under the Constitution) first met on the first Wednesday in 1789 which happened to be the 3rd of March.   It took a while before there was a quorum in both Houses.  As soon as that happened, they could meet in joint session and count the electoral votes (and if necessary choose the President).  It took some time for Washington to get to New York City (where Congress was meeting) so he was not sworn in until June of 1789.

The Constitution does not specify any dates, so Congress made the interpretation that terms of office for both Congress and the President begin on March 3rd.   If a 2 year term started on the March 3rd, then the following term started on March 3rd.  To avoiid the pitfalls of not having a President chosen by the start of his term, Congress set out the practice of the outgoing, lame duck Congress counting the electoral votes and choosing the President if necessary.

The schedule had to provide time for Congress to meet in February, time for the tally of the electoral votes to be sent from each state to the capital, time for the electors to travel to the meeting place in their respective states, and time to count and canvass the votes for electors.  This resulted in subsequent popular elections being held in November of the even year preceding the start of the presidential term.  Initially, Congress did not set a specific date but simply set time windows.  It wasn't until 1848, that Congress set a uniform election date of the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November.   A uniform date for election of Congress did not happen until after the Civil War (the variation was much greater).

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