ultimately bring not one, but two political careers to an abrupt end when he killed political foe, and fi rst secretary of the treasury, Alex- ander Hamilton in a duel.)
Historic close calls and reversals Another blip in the plan followed. In 1824, in an epic mud-slinging contest, Andrew Jackson won the popular vote for president and the most Electoral College votes — but unfortunately, in the latter in- stance, not by the constitutionally required majority of votes. With no majority, the Constitution said the U.S. House of Representatives should decide the outcome. But before that could happen,
through what some saw as she- nanigans, Jackson’s bitter opponent John Quincy Adams announced his new secretary of state, who just happened to be the speaker of the House, Henry Clay. The House went with Clay, and Adams was pronounced president. Jackson left in a huff to form the Demo- cratic Party.
The election of 1872 was a par- ticularly strange one and a new challenge for the Electoral College. This time there was no dead heat — just a dead candidate. The incumbent president, Ulyss-
es S. Grant, was vigorously opposed by newspaper magnate and contro- versial candidate Horace Greeley (perhaps best known for the phrase, “Go West, young man”). Though Greeley had a respectable showing (44 percent) in the general vote, any possible election by the Electoral College vote was a moot issue be- cause Greeley passed away a short time after the general election and before the Electoral College could vote. His Electoral College del- egates divided up his votes among other Democrats (except for three of them, who voted for Greeley anyhow) and went home. [CONTINUES ON PAGE 81]
IMAGES: RIGHT, JAMES STEIDL/DREAMSTIME; ABOVE, ROBERT BYRON/ DREAMSTIME; FACING PAGE, ARTOKOLORO QUINT LOX LTD/ALAMY
Every Vote Counts
In a paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, researchers Andrew Gelman, Nate Silver, and Aaron Edlin note that people are motivated to vote by the thought that their individual votes can make a difference. A single vote in a local civic
election can carry a great deal of weight, according to researchers Casey B. Mulligan and Charles B. Hunter. They found “one of every 100,000 votes cast in U.S. elections, and one of every 15,000 votes cast in state elections, ‘mattered’ in the sense that they were cast
for a candidate that officially tied or won by one vote.” “In a presidential election,”
report Gelman, Silver, and Edlin, “the probability that your vote is decisive is equal to the probability that your state is necessary for an Electoral College win, times the probability the vote in your state is tied in that event.” In its fact sheet “Absentee
Voting Myths and Realities” (
http://bit.ly/1yTRsQ4), the Federal Voting Assistance Program addresses the misconception that absentee votes don’t count: “Absentee ballots submitted in accordance with state laws are counted for every election. The difference is that in a close election, the media reports that the outcome cannot be announced until after the absentee ballots are counted. However, all ballots are counted in the final totals for every election — and every vote (absentee or in person) counts the same.” For more information about
military voting, including guidance on how to receive and submit a military absentee ballot, visit
www.moaa.org/ absenteevoting.
NOVEMBER 2016 MILITARY OFFICER 63
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