Recap of Popular Vote
In the popular vote, Thomas Jefferson won 55 electoral votes to 33 for John Adams. The Federalists had little to worry, however. In the eight states choosing Electors by the legislatures, Federalists controlled seven legislatures (CT, DE, NJ, NY, RI, SC, and VT to TN for the Anti-Federalists). This meant that Adams could expect an additional 47 electoral votes to just four for Jefferson. The Federalists thus appeared headed for certain victory, with a margin of 80-58.
Enter Alexander Hamilton.
With the Federalists safely in first place, Hamilton’s continuing dislike of Adams led to a new electoral vote scheme. As in 1789, Hamilton contacted the Electors. He told the Electors in New England that they needed to cast a solid vote for Adams and Pinckney to ensure their victory. However, he asked the SC Electors to boycott Adams. This scheme would give the presidency to Pinckney and re-elect Adams to a third term as VP. Word of the plot leaked out, of course. In response, U.S. Rep. Jonathan Dayton (F-NJ) contacted the Electors and urged them to elect Aaron Burr the next president.
The Electoral Vote
The Presidential Electors met to cast the electoral votes on 12/7/1796. As in 1789, an incredibly large number of Electors threw away their second votes. On the Federalist side, one of the two Federalist Electors in PA (Samuel Miles) joined the SC Electors in voting for Jefferson and Pinckney. One Federalist Elector in