1796
Turnout was 20.1%. 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.
John Adams and the 1796 map
The first contested presidential election saw Federalist John Adams narrowly defeat Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Under the original Constitutional rules, Jefferson's second-place finish made him Vice President — creating an unprecedented situation with a president and vice president from opposing parties. The election reflected the emerging two-party system and tensions over foreign policy, particularly toward France and Britain.
Foreign policy toward revolutionary France and Britain; Federalism vs. states' rights
First contested election; resulted in president and VP from opposing parties
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.
Prior to ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, each elector was given two votes and required to cast each for a different person. The person with the highest total of votes was elected President and the person with the second highest total was elected Vice President.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 1796, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
States · 16 reporting
State results · 1796
| State | Electoral votes | Popular vote |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut1 | 9 electors John Adams 9, John Jay 5, Thomas Pinckney 4 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Delaware2 | 3 electors John Adams 3, Thomas Pinckney 3 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Georgia3 | 4 electors George Clinton 4, Thomas Jefferson 4 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Kentucky4 | 4 electors Aaron Burr 4, Thomas Jefferson 4 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Maryland5 | 10 electors John Adams 7, Thomas Jefferson 4, Thomas Pinckney 4, Aaron Burr 3, John Henry 2 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Massachusetts6 | 16 electors John Adams 16, Thomas Pinckney 13, Samuel Johnston 2, Oliver Ellsworth 1 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| New Hampshire7 | 6 electors John Adams 6, Oliver Ellsworth 6 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| New Jersey8 | 7 electors John Adams 7, Thomas Pinckney 7 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| New York9 | 12 electors John Adams 12, Thomas Pinckney 12 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| North Carolina10 | 12 electors Thomas Jefferson 11, Aaron Burr 6, James Iredell 3, Charles C. Pinckney 1, George Washington 1, John Adams 1, Thomas Pinckney 1 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Pennsylvania11 | 15 electors Thomas Jefferson 14, Aaron Burr 13, Thomas Pinckney 2, John Adams 1 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Rhode Island12 | 4 electors John Adams 4, Oliver Ellsworth 4 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| South Carolina13 | 8 electors Thomas Jefferson 8, Thomas Pinckney 8 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Tennessee14 | 3 electors Aaron Burr 3, Thomas Jefferson 3 | Electors were chosen by the legislature. |
| Vermont15 | 4 electors John Adams 4, Thomas Pinckney 4 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Virginia16 | 21 electors Thomas Jefferson 20, Samuel Adams 15, George Clinton 3, Aaron Burr 1, George Washington 1, John Adams 1, Thomas Pinckney 1 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
Notes on the figures
- Connecticut State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Delaware State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Georgia State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Kentucky State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Maryland State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Massachusetts State popular vote not yet sourced.
- New Hampshire State popular vote not yet sourced.
- New Jersey State popular vote not yet sourced.
- New York State popular vote not yet sourced.
- North Carolina State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Pennsylvania State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Rhode Island State popular vote not yet sourced.
- South Carolina State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Tennessee The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
- Vermont State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Virginia State popular vote not yet sourced.
SourceNo state popular-vote figures for 1796 are published here yet. How these figures were compiled
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