1789
Turnout was 11.6%. The cycle falls in the First Party System era of American electoral history.
Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.
The presidency begins
The first presidential election under the new Constitution was held in early 1789. George Washington was unanimously chosen by all 69 electors who cast votes, making him the only president ever elected without opposition. John Adams received the second-highest total and became the first Vice President. Each elector cast two ballots under the original rules, so the 69 who voted produced 138 votes in all. New York's legislature deadlocked and appointed no electors, North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the Constitution, and four more appointed electors never cast a ballot.
Establishing the new federal government under the Constitution
Washington is the only president ever chosen unanimously — every elector who voted named him, in 1789 and again in 1792
This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.
For all intents and purposes, Washington was unopposed for election as President. Under the system then in place, votes for Vice President were not differentiated from votes for President.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 1789, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
States · 10 reporting
State results · 1789
| State | Electoral votes | Popular vote |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut1 | 7 electors George Washington 7, John Adams 5, Samuel Huntington 2 | Electors were chosen by the legislature. |
| Delaware2 | 3 electors George Washington 3, John Jay 3 | Electors were chosen by the legislature. |
| Georgia3 | 5 electors George Washington 5, John Milton 2, Benjamin Lincoln 1, Edward Telfair 1, James Armstrong 1 | Electors were chosen by the legislature. |
| Maryland4 | 6 electors George Washington 6, Robert H. Harrison 6 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Massachusetts5 | 10 electors George Washington 10, John Adams 10 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| New Hampshire6 | 5 electors George Washington 5, John Adams 5 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| New Jersey7 | 6 electors George Washington 6, John Jay 5, John Adams 1 | Electors were chosen by the legislature. |
| Pennsylvania8 | 10 electors George Washington 10, John Adams 8, John Hancock 2 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| South Carolina9 | 7 electors George Washington 7, John Rutledge 6, John Hancock 1 | Electors were chosen by the legislature. |
| Virginia10 | 10 electors George Washington 10, John Adams 5, George Clinton 3, John Hancock 1, John Jay 1 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
Notes on the figures
- Connecticut The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
- Delaware The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
- Georgia The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
- Maryland State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Massachusetts State popular vote not yet sourced.
- New Hampshire State popular vote not yet sourced.
- New Jersey The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
- Pennsylvania State popular vote not yet sourced.
- South Carolina The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
- Virginia State popular vote not yet sourced.
SourceNo state popular-vote figures for 1789 are published here yet. How these figures were compiled
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