The ActiveRain History Station: Voting for President used to be so easy

On this day in 1789, George Washington won the first election for President of the United States of America.

At the time, the person receiving the most electoral votes became President, and the person receiving the second most electoral votes became Vice-President.

Only ten states had electoral votes. North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the United States Constitution, so they were ineligible to participate. New York deadlocked in their state legislature on voting for their electors and thus had none.

Each elector had two votes, and each elector cast one of them for George Washington, giving him 69 electoral votes and the Presidency. John Adams received 34 electoral votes, becoming Vice President.

The election itself began on December 15, 1788, and ended on January 10, 1789. Only white men who owned property were allowed to vote, and only 1.3% of the population voted.

From 1792 to 1844, states conducted presidential elections any time during a 34-day period before the first Wednesday in December. November was seen as a good time to have elections because the harvest would have been completed and winter storms would not yet have arrived. However, states that voted later could be influenced by a candidate's victories in the states that voted earlier, a problem later made more significant later by improved communications via train and telegraph. In close elections, the states that voted last might well determine the outcome. I still don't understand the brouhaha about states voting last determining the outcome, a complaint that still exists because of the different time zones. You still need the votes from the states that voted first. Duh.

Congress passed a law in 1845 establishing a uniform date for presidential elections, deciding on the first Tuesday in November in years divisible by four. Federal law, however, required no more than 34 days between presidential voting and electoral voting, which was the first Wednesday in December. In some circumstances, the time between the first Tuesday in November and the first Wednesday in December would be more than 34 days. The bill was amended to move the national date to the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

In 1845, the United States was mostly an agrarian society, and farmers often needed a full day to travel, by horses or horse-drawn vehicles, to the county seat to vote. Tuesday was established as election day because it did not interfere with the biblical sabbath or with market day, which was on Wednesday in most towns.

Ah, yes, voting for President used to be so easy. I am a permanent mail voter, usually completing my ballot a couple of weeks before the election while sitting in the hot tub. Then I wait a week before mailing it in, just to make sure there are no late sex scandals that might change my vote.