2. Delaware 1789 U.S. House of Representatives
3. Delaware 1790 U.S. House of Representatives
4. Delaware 1790 U.S. Senate
5. Delaware 1792 Electoral College
6. Delaware 1792 U.S. House of Representatives
7. Delaware 1794 U.S. House of Representatives
8. Delaware 1795 U.S. Senate, Special
9. Delaware 1796 Electoral College
10. Delaware 1796 U.S. House of Representatives
11. Delaware 1797 U.S. Senate
12. Delaware 1798 U.S. House of Representatives
13. Delaware 1798 U.S. Senate, Special
14. Delaware 1799 U.S. Senate
15. Delaware 1799 U.S. Senate, Special
16. Delaware 1800 Electoral College
17. Delaware 1800 U.S. House of Representatives
18. Delaware 1802 U.S. House of Representatives
19. Delaware 1802 U.S. Senate, Special
20. Delaware 1803 U.S. Senate
21. Delaware 1804 Electoral College
22. Delaware 1804 U.S. House of Representatives
23. Delaware 1804 U.S. Senate, Special
24. Delaware 1805 U.S. House of Representatives, Special
25. Delaware 1805 U.S. Senate
26. Delaware 1806 U.S. House of Representatives
27. Delaware 1807 U.S. House of Representatives, Special
28. Delaware 1808 Electoral College
29. Delaware 1808 U.S. House of Representatives
30. Delaware 1809 U.S. Senate
31. Delaware 1810 U.S. House of Representatives
32. Delaware 1810 U.S. Senate, Special
33. Delaware 1811 U.S. Senate
34. Delaware 1812 Electoral College
35. Delaware 1812 U.S. House of Representatives
36. Delaware 1813 U.S. Senate, Special
37. Delaware 1814 U.S. House of Representatives
38. Delaware 1815 U.S. Senate
39. Delaware 1816 Electoral College
40. Delaware 1816 U.S. House of Representatives
41. Delaware 1817 U.S. Senate
42. Delaware 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2
43. Delaware 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3
44. Delaware 1818 U.S. House of Representatives
45. Delaware 1820 Electoral College
46. Delaware 1820 U.S. House of Representatives
47. Delaware 1822 U.S. House of Representatives
48. Delaware 1822 U.S. House of Representatives, Special
49. Delaware 1822 U.S. Senate
50. Delaware 1822 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2
51. Delaware 1823 U.S. Senate, Special
52. Delaware 1823 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 2
53. Delaware 1823 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 3
54. Delaware 1823 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 4
55. Delaware 1823 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 5
56. Delaware 1824 Electoral College
57. Delaware 1824 U.S. House of Representatives
58. Delaware 1824 U.S. Senate
59. Delaware 1824 U.S. Senate, Special
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.