Massachusetts 1793 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2, Candidate from Hampshire County, Ballot 3

Office:
U.S. House of Representatives (Federal)
Title:
U.S. Congressman
Jurisdiction:
Federal
Label:
Massachusetts 1793 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2, Candidate from Hampshire County, Ballot 3
Date:
1793
State:
Massachusetts
Type:
General
Iteration:
Third Ballot
Office/Role:
U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
Candidates:
William Lyman, Samuel Lyman
Candidates: William Lyman[1]Samuel Lyman
Affiliation:Federalist
Final Result: [2][3][4]32452861
District of Two32452861
Berkshire County415472
Town of Adams176
Town of Alford117
Town of Becket-20
District of Bethlehem9-
Town of Chesire53-
Town of Dalton311
Town of Egremont-35
Town of Great Barrington23
Town of Hancock20-
Town of Lanesborough3232
Town of Lee-42
Town of Lenox1027
Town of Louden-12
Town of Mount Washington10-
District of New Ashford35-
Town of New Marlborough419
Town of Partridgefield62-
Town of Pittsfield1722
Town of Richmond-43
Town of Sandisfield123
Town of Sheffield637
Town of Stockbridge290
Town of Tyringham-27
Town of Washington-19
Town of West Stockbridge337
Town of Williamstown69-
Town of Windsor18-
Hampshire County2226842
Town of Amherst954
Town of Ashfield48-
Town of Belchertown2222
Town of Bernardston412
Town of Blandford437
Town of Brimfield-75
Town of Buckland17-
Town of Charlemont176
Town of Chester338
Town of Chesterfield481
Town of Colrain44-
Town of Conway89-
Town of Cummington263
Town of Deerfield132
District of Easthampton266
Town of Goshen453
Town of Granby264
Town of Granville451
Town of Greenfield558
Town of Greenwich-43
Town of Hadley2425
Town of Hatfield3124
Town of Hawley20-
Town of Heath-17
Town of Holland-30
Town of Leverett24-
District of Leyden-24
Town of Longmeadow-52
Town of Ludlow602
Town of Middlefield7-
Town of Monson501
Town of Montague417
Town of Montgomery716
Town of New Salem349
Town of Northampton8343
Town of Northfield59-
Town of Norwich527
District of Orange2114
Town of Palmer34-
Town of Pelham52-
District of Plainfield28-
Town of Rowe-14
Town of Russell20-
Town of Shelburne63-
Town of Shutesbury41-
Town of South Brimfield31-
Town of South Hadley297
Town of Southampton3941
Town of Southwick46-
Town of Springfield5110
Town of Sunderland414
Town of Ware1616
Town of Warwick101-
Town of Wendell13-
Town of West Springfield2663
Town of Westfield7766
Town of Westhampton4322
Town of Whately28-
Town of Wilbraham540
Town of Williamsburg649
Town of Worthington594
Worcester County6041547
Town of Ashburnham53-
Town of Athal-42
Town of Barre377
District of Berlin-18
Town of Bolton415
Town of Boylston286
Town of Brookfield17111
Town of Charlton2510
Town of Douglas-47
Town of Dudley159
Town of Fitchburg-25
Town of Gardner517
Town of Gerry-54
Town of Grafton819
Town of Hardwick153
Town of Harvard718
Town of Holden125
Town of Hubbardston127
Town of Lancaster5121
Town of Leicester4011
Town of Leominster142
Town of Lunenberg4324
Town of Mendon-63
Town of Milford-57
Town of New Braintree246
Town of Northborough39-
Town of Northbridge-27
Town of Oakham-26
Town of Oxford141
Town of Paxton-31
Town of Petersham963
Town of Princetown2938
Town of Royalston1717
Town of Rutland240
Town of Shrewsbury635
Town of Southborough34-
Town of Spencer2614
Town of Sterling1062
Town of Sturbridge43-
Town of Sutton2531
Town of Templeton-50
Town of Upton1218
Town of Uxbridge2212
Town of Ward-22
Town of Westborough1815
Town of Western1845
Town of Westminster-46
Town of Winchendon-16
Town of Worcester-58

Notes:

[1]Elected.
[2]"The Massachusetts law provided for a complex method of voting. The voters of Districts One and Two each could vote for four candidates, but the votes had to be distributed as follows: one vote for a candidate from each of the three counties in the district and one additional vote for any candidate from any part of the district. In the Third District each voter had two votes; one had to be cast for a candidate from Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties and the other for a candidate from Bristol and Plymouth. In addition all voters in the above three districts cast one additional vote for any candidate from anywhere in the three districts, listed in the returns as at-large. Voters of the Fourth District had three votes, one for a candidate from York, another from Cumberland and the other from any of the remaining counties of this district." Dubin, Michael J. United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 1998. 9.
[3]Massachusetts law required a majority to elect for the U.S. House of Representatives. The original election was held on November 2, 1792 and a 2nd Trial was held on January 14, 1793.
[4]There seems to have been confusion over which congressional race Samuel Lyman was running in. Because of the unique nature of the Massachusetts Congressional Districts at the time, Samuel Lyman was being run as a candidate in two different races at the same time - the At-Large spot in District 2 and the Hampshire County spot in District 2. At first glance, it would appear that he simply lost both races - by votes of 3535 to 2854 in the At-Large race and by 3245 to 2861 in the Hampshire race. However, a closer look reveals that there was almost no overlapping of his votes. There were 6106 votes cast in the former race and 6409 in the latter. Yet, from a detailed look at the votes at the town level, well over 5000 separate votes were cast for Samuel Lyman. They could not be the same 2800+ people voting for him both times. In The At-Large race, he received only 109 votes in Worcester County while in the Hampshire he received 1547. In the At-Large race he received 2353 votes in Hampshire County while only 842 in the Hampshire race. Even these are not the same; he received 139 votes in the At-Large race in towns where he received no votes in the Hampshire race (Brimfield, Cummington, Heath, Holland and Rowe). He also received another 68 votes in three towns where he received only 10 votes in the Hampshire race (Leyden, Montague and Norwich). The same results occur in Berkshire County where his votes totals were the closest (472 in the At-Large race, 392 in the Hampshire race). In the At-Large race, he received 246 votes in towns where he received no votes in the Hampshire race (Alford, Becket, Lee, Louden, New Marlboro, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington), while he also received 252 votes in the Hampshire race in towns where he received no votes in the At-Large race (Bethlehem, Chesire, Hancock, Mount Washington, New Ashford, Partridgefield, Williamstown, Windsor). In one election or the other, Lyman received at least 50% of the vote in every town in Berkshire County except two (Hancock and Sandisfield), yet received a majority in both elections in only three towns (Bethlehem, Egremont, Lenox). Likewise, in Hampshire County, where only 6 towns did not give him at least 50% of the vote in either election (Belchertown, Blandford, Cummington, Gill, Hatfield, Plainfield) but only received majorities in both elections in only 4 towns (Greenwich, Southampton, Springfield, Wilbraham).

References:

Original Election Returns. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
Hardwick Town Records. 171.
Oakham Town Records. 266.
Western Star (Stockbridge, MA). April 9, 1792.
Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 3, 1793.
Thomas's Massachusetts Spy: Or, The Worcester Gazette (Worcester, MA). April 4, 1793.
Greenfield Gazette (Greenfield, MA). April 4, 1793.
Dubin, Michael J. United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 1998. 9.

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