Our nation was still in her infancy when this election took place, in which none of the candidates won an outright majority in the Electoral College. In such an instance the Constitution dictates that the House of Representatives choose the president, with each state delegation getting one vote and the winning candidate needing a majority of the states.In this election each of the candidates were from the same party, and the Electoral College broke as follows:
Candidate #1 (blue): 99 electoral votes
Candidate #2 (orange): 84 electoral votes
Candidate #3 (green): 41 electoral votes
Candidate #4 (purple): 37 electoral votes
(131 needed to win)
At the time of the election eighteen states had moved to a popular vote system in choosing electors, while six were still chosen by their respective state legislatures.
The House of Representatives met the February following this contest (presidents were inaugurated on March 4 until 1937, when FDR became the first president to take office on January 20) and were able to come to a decision on the first ballot.
Which election was it?
