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1802–03 United States House of Representatives elections

House elections for the 8th U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1802–03 United States House of Representatives elections
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The 1802–03 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 26, 1802 (in New York) and December 14, 1803 (in New Jersey). Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives, either before or after the first session of the 8th United States Congress convened on October 17, 1803. They occurred during President Thomas Jefferson's first term in office.

Quick facts All 142 seats in the United States House of Representatives 72 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

With the addition of the new state of Ohio's representatives, and the congressional reapportionment based on the 1800 United States census, the size of the House increased from 106 to 142 seats. The greatest population growth revealed in the 1800 census was in territories that constituted the western regions of the country at the time, a tremendous boost for Democratic-Republican candidates. Nearly all of the new seats created in the reapportionment went to Democratic-Republicans, closely aligned as they were with the agrarian interests of Western farmers. As a result, the Democratic-Republicans won the largest proportion of seats that either they or the competing Federalists had ever been able to secure in any earlier Congress, a supermajority greater than two-thirds of the total number.

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Election summaries

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These elections were the first following reapportionment after the 1800 census. Thirty-five new seats were added in reapportionment,[1] with three states having no change in apportionment, and thirteen states gaining between 1 and 7 seats. One further seat was added for the new state of Ohio, which is included in this table below.[2]

102 40
Democratic-Republican Federalist
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Special elections

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There were special elections in 1802 and 1803 during the 7th United States Congress and 8th United States Congress.

Elections are sorted here by date then district.

7th Congress

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8th Congress

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Connecticut

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Delaware

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Georgia

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Georgia gained 2 seats in reapportionment after the 1800 census. It elected its representatives October 4, 1802, at-large on a general ticket.

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Kentucky

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Kentucky gained 4 seats to 6 in reapportionment after the 1800 census.

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Maryland

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Maryland gained 1 seat in reapportionment after the 1800 census. Rather than increasing the number of districts, however, Maryland made the Maryland 5 a plural district with 2 seats.

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Massachusetts

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Massachusetts increased 3 seats to 17 in reapportionment after the 1800 census. Massachusetts law at the time required a majority for election to an office, which requirement was not met in the 6th district, requiring two additional ballots.

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Mississippi Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

New Hampshire

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New Hampshire increased its apportionment from 4 seats to 5 after the 1800 census.

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New Jersey

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New Jersey increased its apportionment from 5 seats to 6 after the 1800 census.

The Federalists did not run any official candidates in 1802, but a few Federalists did receive scattered votes.

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New York

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New York's apportionment increased from 10 seats to 17 seats after the 1800 census. The state was subsequently redistricted. 11 open seats were available due to the increase in apportionment and retirement of incumbents.

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North Carolina

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North Carolina increased its apportionment from 10 to 12 seats after the 1800 census.

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Ohio

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Pennsylvania

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Pennsylvania increased its apportionment from 13 to 18 seats after the 1800 census. The state was re-districted from 12 into 11 districts, four of which were plural districts.

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Rhode Island

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South Carolina

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South Carolina increased its apportionment from 6 seats to 8 after the 1800 census.

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Tennessee

Tennessee increased its apportionment from 1 seat to 3 seats after the 1800 census.

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Vermont

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Vermont increased its apportionment from 2 seats to 4 after the 1800 census. Vermont law at the time required a majority of votes to win an office, which frequently necessitated additional ballots.

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Virginia

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Virginia increased its apportionment from 19 to 22 seats after the 1800 census. Virginia's congressional delegation remained the largest of any state, but would lose this distinction permanently after the census of 1810. Elections were held over three days in April 1803.

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Non-voting delegates

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See also

Notes

  1. Majority required for election, which requirement was not met in one district, necessitating two additional trials held on January 24 and April 3, 1803
  2. Majority required for election, which was not met in two districts. Two additional elections were required to achieve a majority, held on March 1 and May 9, 1803
  3. Mistakenly listed as a Federalist in source
  4. Only candidates with at least 1% of the vote listed
  5. Numbers of votes missing or incomplete in source
  6. The official date when Ohio became a state was not set until 1953, when the 83rd Congress passed legislation retroactively designating the date of the first meeting of the Ohio state legislature, March 1, 1803, as that date. However, on April 30, 1802, the 7th Congress had passed an act "authorizing the inhabitants of Ohio to form a Constitution and state government, and admission of Ohio into the Union."[19] On February 19, 1803, the same Congress passed an act "providing for the execution of the laws of the United States in the State of Ohio."[20] The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that Ohio was admitted to the Union on November 29, 1802, and counts its seats as vacant from that date.
  7. Former delegate for the Northwest Territory
  8. Changed parties
  9. Thomas Lewis Jr. (Federalist) was initially declared the winner with 1,004 votes for Lewis, 832 for Andrew Moore (Democratic-Republican), and 423 for John Woodward (Federalist). However, upon investigation by the House Committee on Elections, it was determined that 355 votes for Lewis and 124 votes for Moore were cast by individuals who did not meet Virginia's voter qualifications, making the adjusted totals 708 legal votes for Moore and 649 legal votes for Lewis, thus, the Committee awarded this seat to Moore on March 5, 1804.[22]
  10. Only the two top candidates listed here, partial returns suggest Jones won by a very large majority.

References

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