 This last provision diminished the power of the small counties where the majority of the state's large former slave population lived.The constitution was submitted to the people for ratification on October 13, 1864 and it was narrowly approved by a vote of 30,174 to 29,799 (50.31% to 49.69%) in a referendum widely characterised by intimidation and fraud.This was a controversial result, given the state's Confederate ties and sympathies.