President Thomas Jefferson won a dramatic victory in the popular elections of early 11/1804, carrying the ten states in a 108-2 margin for Presidential Electors. Pinckney actually carried two additional districts, but these votes were taken away from him on technicalities. States selecting Presidential Electors by the legislature chose 54 Jefferson and 12 Pinckney Electors.

The Electoral Vote

Presidential Electors gathered in their respective state capitols on 12/5/1804 to cast the electoral votes. The eight states choosing Electors by the legislature chose 54 DR Electors and 12 Federalist Electors. As a result, the final electoral vote was 162 for Jefferson and 14 for Pinckney.

-- States choosing Electors by the legislature: CT, DE, GA, NY, SC, TN, VT

-- States choosing Electors by the General Ticket (at large): MA, NH, NJ, OH, PA, RI, VA

-- States choosing Electors by district: KY, MD, NC

Joint Session of Congress

Congress assembled in joint session at noon on 2/13/1805 in the U.S. Senate chamber to count the electoral votes (National Intelligencer, 2/15/1805). Retiring VP Aaron Burr presided. Three tellers were appointed: Sen. Samuel Smith and Reps. Joseph Clay and Roger Griswold. After reading the returns, no objection was made to the vote of any state, so VP Burr declared Jefferson and Clinton to have been elected President and Vice President.

Popular vote of 1804

Key sources

The Glorious Burden, pp. 69-78.

The Presidential Game, pp. 82-90.

Marshall Smelser, The Democratic Republic: 1801-1815 (NYC: Harper Torchbooks, 1968), pp. 1-80.