Constitutional FAQ Answer #75 Q75. "In the presidential election
of 1800, Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson received the same
number of votes in the electoral college. Congress chose
Jefferson as President and Aaron Burr as Vice President using
Article 2 Section 2 of the Constitution. How did Congress arrive
at this decision." A. The election was really between Jefferson
and Burr on the Republican ticket and Adams and Pinckney on the
Federalist ticket. The top two vote-getters were the
Republicans. The problem is that since there was no separate
election for President and for Vice President, they had two
candidates from the same party as the top two choices — which
was to be President? The Constitution says that the issue is
settled in the House. The kicker — the House was dominated by
Federalists. To win, one of the candidates needed the votes of
nine states (one vote per state, sixteen states, eight plus one
needed for a majority); after thirty-five ballots, there was
still no winner. Jefferson smoothed some