Presidential electoral votes by state.

The U.S. presidential election of 1820 was the third and last presidential election in U.S. history in which a candidate ran effectively unopposed. (After the presidential elections of 1789 and 1792, in which George Washington ran without serious opposition).

During the campaign, incumbent President James Monroe of the Democratic-Republican Party ran virtually unopposed for reelection. William Plumer, an elector from New Hampshire and former U.S. Senator and Governor, cast his electoral ballot for then-Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. While some accounts say that this was to ensure that Washington remained the only American president unanimously chosen by the Electoral College, others claim it was out of a sincere belief that Monroe was not the best choice.

This election also marked the end of the Federalist Party, which did not nominate a candidate for President.

This was the first election in which Alabama, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, and Mississippi (all admitted to the union in the past four years) cast votes.

Daniel D. Tompkins ran for Vice President, defeating Richard Stockton, Daniel Rodney , Robert Goodloe Harper, and Richard Rush.

General election

Results

In all, 235 electors were appointed, but three deceased electors (one each from Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Tennessee) were not replaced prior to votes being cast.

|- | John Quincy Adams | Republican | Massachusetts | style="text-align:right;" | — | style="text-align:right;" | — | style="text-align:right;" | 1 ^(a) '

|- | Richard Stockton | Federalist | New Jersey | style="text-align:right;" | 8

|- | Daniel Rodney | Federalist | Delaware | style="text-align:right;" | 4

|- | Robert Goodloe Harper | Federalist | Maryland | style="text-align:right;" | 1

|- | Richard Rush | Federalist | Pennsylvania | style="text-align:right;" | 1

Breakdown by ticket

|- | James Monroe | Richard Stockton | 8

|- | James Monroe | Daniel Rodney | 4

|- | James Monroe | Robert Goodloe Harper | 1

|- | John Quincy Adams | Richard Rush | 1

Note that all of these tickets except Monroe/Tompkins are split tickets, with a Republican presidential candidate and a Federalist vice presidential candidate. Note also that these split tickets represent only 6.0% of the electoral vote.

Electoral college selection

See also

• History of the United States (1789-1849)

External link

• The Green Papers: A Historical Analysis of the Electoral College