One
of the first tasks of the new Congress was to count the votes that had been
cast by the electors in the states and declare the election of George Washington
as president and John Adams as vice president. Each elector cast two votes.
Washington was elected unanimously, but Adams received only 34 of the 69 votes
cast. His closest rival, John Jay, received nine votes. Recognizing the danger
of a tie vote, Alexander Hamilton had worked to assure that this did not occur.
Federalists and Antifederalists in the New York legislature could not agree on a
method for choosing electors, and New York did not participate in the first
presidential election. Thus, Hamilton saw to it that the Connecticut electors
voted for three, rather than two, individuals. This proved unnecessary because
of favorite son candidates, particularly in Maryland and South Carolina.
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