on march 30, 1855, the kansas territory had the election for its first territorial legislature. this legislature would decide whether the territory would allow slavery, so it was an important election. just like in the election of november 1854, "border ruffians" from missouri again went into the territory to vote. pro-slavery people were elected to 37 of the 39 seats. martin f. conway and samuel d. houston from riley county were the only free-staters elected. due to concerns about electoral fraud, territorial governor andrew reeder nullified the results in five voting districts. a special election was held on may 22 to elect replacements. eight of the eleven delegates elected in the special election were free-staters, but this still left the pro-slavery people with a 29–10 advantage.