The Election of 1800 and the 36 Ballots That Fixed It

The election of 1800 exposed a fatal flaw in the original electoral college. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each received 73 votes because electors did not distinguish president from vice president, throwing the choice into the lame-duck House.

It took 36 ballots and an intervention by Hamilton against Burr before Jefferson won on February 17, 1801. The deadlock produced the Twelfth Amendment and its separate ballots, and the contest stands as the first peaceful transfer of power to an opposition party.

Relive the whole crisis in the election database..