Results navigation
252. Delaware 1812 Electoral College
253. Delaware 1812 House of Representatives, Kent County
254. Delaware 1812 House of Representatives, New Castle County
255. Delaware 1812 House of Representatives, Sussex County
256. Delaware 1812 Inspector, Brandywine Hundred
257. Delaware 1812 Levy Court Commissioner, New Castle County
258. Delaware 1812 Levy Court Commissioner, Sussex County
259. Delaware 1812 Road Commission, Brandywine Hundred
260. Delaware 1812 Sheriff, New Castle County
261. Delaware 1812 Speaker of the House
262. Delaware 1812 Speaker of the Senate
263. Delaware 1812 State Senate, Kent County
264. Delaware 1812 State Senate, Kent County, Special
265. Delaware 1812 State Senate, New Castle County
266. Delaware 1812 State Senate, Sussex County
267. Delaware 1812 U.S. House of Representatives
268. Delaware 1813 Assessor, Brandywine Hundred
269. Delaware 1813 Governor
270. Delaware 1813 Inspector, Brandywine Hundred
271. Delaware 1813 Road Commission, Brandywine Hundred
272. Delaware 1813 U.S. Senate, Special
273. Delaware 1814 House of Representatives, Kent County
274. Delaware 1814 House of Representatives, New Castle County
275. Delaware 1814 Levy Court Commissioner, Kent County
276. Delaware 1814 Levy Court Commissioner, New Castle County
277. Delaware 1814 State Senate, New Castle County
278. Delaware 1814 U.S. House of Representatives
279. Delaware 1815 Coroner, Kent County
280. Delaware 1815 Coroner, New Castle County
281. Delaware 1815 House of Representatives, Kent County
282. Delaware 1815 House of Representatives, New Castle County
283. Delaware 1815 House of Representatives, Sussex County
284. Delaware 1815 Levy Court Commissioner, Kent County
285. Delaware 1815 Levy Court Commissioner, New Castle County
286. Delaware 1815 Sheriff, New Castle County
287. Delaware 1815 State Senate, Kent County
288. Delaware 1815 State Senate, New Castle County
289. Delaware 1815 State Senate, Sussex County
290. Delaware 1815 U.S. Senate
291. Delaware 1816 Coroner, Sussex County
292. Delaware 1816 Electoral College
293. Delaware 1816 Governor
294. Delaware 1816 House of Representatives, Kent County
295. Delaware 1816 House of Representatives, New Castle County
296. Delaware 1816 House of Representatives, Sussex County
297. Delaware 1816 Levy Court Commissioner, Kent County
298. Delaware 1816 Levy Court Commissioner, New Castle County
299. Delaware 1816 Levy Court Commissioner, Sussex County
300. Delaware 1816 Sheriff, Kent County
Results navigation
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.