The Election of 1800: Counting the State Ballots

All the political machinations of December 1800 through early February 1801 couldn't hold back the relentless course of time and nature. The clock kept running, February 11 came, and the electoral votes were opened under the supervision of Thomas Jefferson, the President of the Senate. All of the ballots appeared to be in order, even though we know that there were irregularities with Georgia's ballot (Georgia had sent in the names of Electors and the candidates selected on one sheet of paper instead of the required two; also the Electors themselves didn't certify that their votes were properly recorded). Jefferson, however, didn't hesitate to consider Georgia's vote as legitimate and, since there was no replay official in the booth, the four electoral votes of that state went into his and Burr's column. The final tabulation was as expected: Jefferson and Burr each received 73 electoral votes; Adams had 65; Pinckney received 64 and John Jay--1. According to the Constitution, then, the election between Jefferson and Burr would "immediately" be thrown into the House, with each of the sixteen states receiving one vote. Nine states were needed for candidate to be elected. If, however, one state "dropped out" in the process for some reason, there would only be fifteen votes given and the winner would need but eight state votes.

The Actual Voting

Voting for candidates began in the afternoon of Wed. Feb. 11, 1801. Accounts that I have read said that there were 104 (out of 106) representatives present, yet the absence of two didn't seemingly affect the tendency of any of the states. The largest state delegation was Virginia's--with 19 members--and it was dominated by Republicans; the smallest was Delware's delegation, with Federalist James Bayard being the sole member. Thus, DE and VA could, and did, "balance" each other, at least for the first 35 votes.

The Constitution just stipulated that voting for President would happen "immediately" upon the opening of the electoral votes. The House itself passed a rule saying that they would not adjourn until a President was named. Yet, their zeal outstripped their intelligence here, as the first fifteen ballots, completed by 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 11, yielded the same result--8 states for Jefferson, 6 for Burr and 2 undecided (VT, MD). Interestingly enough, of the six that went for Burr, only one of these (SC) had given Burr any electoral votes; he was clearly the "Federalist candidate" in this special election procedure. And even though the Federalists controlled the House (I have seen different numbers for their advantage: from 60-46 to 62-44), their delegates tended to be bunched in strongly Federalist states. Thus, the Republicans, who controlled such small states as TN, KY, GA (1, 2, 2 representatives) were crucial in giving Jefferson the advantage.

But, as the numbers showed, the states showed no interest in budging from the 8-6 numbers in the first ballot. Each of the ballots saw some jockeying within each state's vote (I have seen accounts that said that these "intra-state" ballots do not exist today), but the outcome on each of the first fifteen ballots was identical. Then, after a four-hour break for dinner, the House returned at 9:00 p.m. on Feb. 11. Seven more votes (until 3:00 a.m. on Feb. 12) were taken, but the tie was not broken.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday also saw no shifts in the state configurations of support. The same 8 (NY, NJ, PA, VA, NC, GA, TN, KY) favored Jefferson; the same 6 (NH, MA, CT, RI, DE, SC) supported Burr; the same 2 (VT, MD) were deadlocked. Thirty-three votes had been taken and all was still the same. No one seemed willing to budge.

Breaking the Logjam

The heavy politicking, not unexpectedly, took place on the day of rest. All eyes turned to James Bayard, of Delaware, who knew that he held the election in the palm of his hands. Though no one knows precisely what was said to anyone, it appears that Bayard approached a member of the VA delegation with the question of whether Jefferson would be willing to support the three Federalist "demands" for support--keeping lower Federalist officials in office, support of the Navy, no attempt to dismantle the Bank of the United States. Later either Sunday or Monday Bayard told the House leadership that he intended to change his vote--not by voting for Jefferson but by not casting a vote. This would mean that Delaware would be abstaining from voting--which would give Jefferson, with 8 votes, a majority of the States. Cries of "Traitor" and worse things were ringing in his ears, but Bayard decided that things had gone far enough. Indeed, over the weeked, the message was communicated to leaders in Washington that both the PA and VA militias stood at the ready if the Federalists attempted to "pull a fast one" in the ensuing days. Things were in danger of getting out of hand.

Two votes on Monday, February 16 (34th and 35th ballots) didn't resolve the issue. Finally, on Tuesday, February 17, six days after the first ballot was taken, there was movement. Indeed, there was lots of movement in the balloting. James Bayard decided not to vote at all, thus putting DE in the "Abstain" category. Federalist Electors in SC, MD and VT decided to withhold their votes. Thus, since all the Electors in SC were Federalist, SC also entered into the "Abstain" category. The final tally was thus 10 for Jefferson (his 8 states and MD and VT), 4 for Burr (NH, MA, CT, RI) and two abstentions (SC, DE). Habemus presidentem.

Conclusion

I am never quite sure as I read and re-read the accounts of the Presidential Election of 1800 how close the United States was to dissolution in that year. I don't know if Civil War was, in fact, imminent. So many charges and countercharges were flying that you can't, from 207 years distant, really know how dangerously close we were not simply to a constitutional crisis but to possible national crisis. Thankfully, at the last moment, one Federalist member decided that he would hold his up his vote no longer. Before the next Presidential election (1804), Congress and the States passed the 12th Amendment, thus requiring the Electors to specify their Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. It appeared, therefore, that the Constitutional "bugs" were all worked out...

But politics and human nature being what it was, this would only be the first of several closely contested Presidential elections. But we had passed our first test well--a peaceful transition of power, the hallmark of successful democratic systems, had taken place. Now it was on to the serious task of governing. And Jefferson faced a lot of issues--among them being the Judiciary Act of 1801. Let's look at that law now...

3002