 Eleven states hold them in the same years as presidential elections (Vermont and New Hampshire hold elections every two years in every even numbered year), while the remaining five hold them in odd numbered years (two in the year after a presidential election, three in the year before).In colonial North America, governors were chosen in a variety of ways, depending on how the colony was organized.In the crown colonies of Great Britain, France, and Spain, the governor was chosen by the ruling monarch of the colonizing power, or his designees; in British colonies, the Board of Trade was often the primary decision maker.