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102. Delaware 1810 House of Representatives, New Castle County
103. Delaware 1810 House of Representatives, Sussex County
104. Delaware 1810 State Senate, Kent County
105. Delaware 1810 State Senate, New Castle County
106. Delaware 1810 State Senate, Sussex County
107. Delaware 1811 House of Representatives, Kent County
108. Delaware 1811 House of Representatives, New Castle County
109. Delaware 1811 House of Representatives, Sussex County
110. Delaware 1811 State Senate, Kent County
111. Delaware 1811 State Senate, New Castle County
112. Delaware 1811 State Senate, Sussex County
113. Delaware 1812 House of Representatives, Kent County
114. Delaware 1812 House of Representatives, New Castle County
115. Delaware 1812 House of Representatives, Sussex County
116. Delaware 1812 State Senate, Kent County
117. Delaware 1812 State Senate, New Castle County
118. Delaware 1812 State Senate, Sussex County
119. Delaware 1813 Governor
120. Delaware 1814 House of Representatives, Kent County
121. Delaware 1814 House of Representatives, New Castle County
122. Delaware 1814 State Senate, New Castle County
123. Delaware 1815 House of Representatives, Kent County
124. Delaware 1815 House of Representatives, New Castle County
125. Delaware 1815 House of Representatives, Sussex County
126. Delaware 1815 State Senate, Kent County
127. Delaware 1815 State Senate, New Castle County
128. Delaware 1815 State Senate, Sussex County
129. Delaware 1816 Governor
130. Delaware 1816 House of Representatives, Kent County
131. Delaware 1816 House of Representatives, New Castle County
132. Delaware 1816 House of Representatives, Sussex County
133. Delaware 1816 State Senate, Kent County
134. Delaware 1816 State Senate, New Castle County
135. Delaware 1816 State Senate, Sussex County
136. Delaware 1817 House of Representatives, Kent County
137. Delaware 1817 House of Representatives, New Castle County
138. Delaware 1817 State Senate, Kent County
139. Delaware 1817 State Senate, New Castle County
140. Delaware 1818 House of Representatives, Kent County
141. Delaware 1818 House of Representatives, New Castle County
142. Delaware 1818 State Senate, Kent County
143. Delaware 1818 State Senate, New Castle County
144. Delaware 1819 Governor
145. Delaware 1819 House of Representatives, Kent County
146. Delaware 1819 House of Representatives, New Castle County
147. Delaware 1819 State Senate, Kent County
148. Delaware 1819 State Senate, New Castle County
149. Delaware 1820 House of Representatives, Kent County
150. Delaware 1820 House of Representatives, New Castle County
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On December 7, 1787 the Delaware State Legislature, by a unanimous vote of 30 to 0, became the first state to ratify the newly proposed national Constitution.
When a new State Constitution was adopted in 1792, the office of State Executive, which had previously been called President and chosen by the Legislature, was changed to Governor, and became an elected position. The term of office was kept at three years.
Delaware with only three counties (New Castle, Kent and Sussex) had the fewest in the nation. They also had the smallest State Legislature, comprised of nine State Senators and twenty-one Representatives.
Each county had three Senators, serving for three years. Their terms were staggered, so that one Senator was elected every year from each county. The House of Representatives had twenty one members, seven from each county, and who were elected annually at large.
Congressional, State and County Elections were held simultaneously in early October. Delaware elected one Congressman from 1788 – 1810, two for 1812 – 1820, and then one again from 1822 onward. State offices elected by popular vote were Governor, State Senator and Representatives. County officials elected by popular vote were Levy Court Commissioners, Coroners and Sheriff.
The voting alignment of the three counties, with New Castle voting Republican and Sussex and Kent being Federalist, meant that the State Legislature was almost always controlled by Federalists. As a result, from 1792 to 1820 Delaware chose Federalist Presidential Electors, even in 1820 when all four electors gave their Vice Presidential votes to Daniel Rodney, a Federalist and former Governor.
The Legislature also selected United States Senators, and with the exception of Caesar A. Rodney, who was elected in 1822, all those chosen during this time period were Federalists.
Party competition began with the state elections of 1792 and continued virtually unabated until 1826, when the last Federalist Governor was elected. Despite the dominance of Federalists in the Legislature, the parties were fairly balanced in popular voting strength, with Republicans electing their candidate for Governor in 1801, 1810, 1820 and 1822 and Congressmen in 1792, 1794, 1802 and capturing one of their two seats in 1816, 1818 and 1820.
Delaware counties were broken down into Hundreds, which seem to be the equivalent of townships. By 1811 state election returns started to be reported by Hundreds, a procedure which began showing the tight cohesion in voting amongst Federalist and Republican tickets.
The Hundreds also elected local officials such as Assessors, Inspectors and Road Commissioners. These elections were held in September, before the state voted in October, and on occasion, if they were favorable to either party, these returns were reported in the newspapers.
Delaware, the first state in the Union was the last to elect a Federalist Governor.