Massachusetts 1793 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2, At-Large, 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, At-Large, Ballot 3
Date:
1793
State:
Massachusetts
Type:
General
Iteration:
Third Ballot
Office/Role:
U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
Candidates:
Dwight Foster, Samuel Lyman, William Lyman
Candidates: Dwight Foster[1]Samuel LymanWilliam Lyman
Affiliation:FederalistFederalist
Final Result: [2][3][4]3535285420
District of Two3535285420
Berkshire County612392-
Town of Adams1012-
Town of Alford17--
Town of Becket18--
District of Bethlehem-9-
Town of Chesire-52-
Town of Dalton126-
Town of Egremont-30-
Town of Great Barrington571-
Town of Hancock201-
Town of Lanesborough5212-
Town of Lee42--
Town of Lenox2231-
Town of Louden16--
Town of Mount Washington-13-
District of New Ashford-27-
Town of New Marlborough53--
Town of Partridgefield-62-
Town of Pittsfield468-
Town of Richmond411-
Town of Sandisfield164-
Town of Sheffield376-
Town of Stockbridge99--
Town of Tyringham28--
Town of Washington19--
Town of West Stockbridge729-
Town of Williamstown-70-
Town of Windsor-18-
Hampshire County72723534
Town of Amherst495-
Town of Ashfield-46-
Town of Belchertown22201
Town of Bernardston538-
Town of Blandford2321-
Town of Brimfield73--
Town of Buckland220-
Town of Charlemont617-
Town of Chester333-
Town of Chesterfield2225-
Town of Colrain-44-
Town of Conway-100-
Town of Cummington24-1
Town of Deerfield113-
District of Easthampton6271
Town of Goshen638-
Town of Granby3281
Town of Granville-45-
Town of Greenfield-60-
Town of Greenwich1029-
Town of Hadley4012-
Town of Hatfield2926-
Town of Hawley-20-
Town of Heath17--
Town of Holland39--
Town of Leverett-24-
District of Leyden195-
Town of Longmeadow3835-
Town of Ludlow-62-
Town of Middlefield-7-
Town of Monson156-
Town of Montague211-
Town of Montgomery1710-
Town of New Salem934-
Town of Northfield158-
Town of Northampton5079-
Town of Norwich284-
District of Orange1423-
Town of Palmer-34-
Town of Pelham-36-
District of Plainfield25--
Town of Rowe14--
Town of Russell-20-
Town of Shelburne163-
Town of Shutesbury-41-
Town of South Brimfield-43-
Town of South Hadley729-
Town of Southampton2739-
Town of Southwick-48-
Town of Springfield12104-
Town of Sunderland144-
Town of Ware1522-
Town of Warwick197-
Town of Wendell320-
Town of West Springfield1265-
Town of Westfield16120-
Town of Westhampton2942-
Town of Whately-28-
Town of Wilbraham247-
Town of Williamsburg1060-
Town of Worthington17361
Worcester County219610916
Town of Ashburnham64-3
Town of Athal42--
Town of Barre2815-
District of Berlin21--
Town of Bolton22--
Town of Boylston276-
Town of Brookfield110171
Town of Charlton461-
Town of Douglas41--
Town of Dudley59--
Town of Fitchburg34--
Town of Gardner188-
Town of Gerry54--
Town of Grafton263-
Town of Hardwick54--
Town of Harvard40--
Town of Holden17--
Town of Hubbardston343-
Town of Lancaster881-
Town of Leicester80--
Town of Leominster51--
Town of Lunenberg771-
Town of Mendon72--
Town of Milford53--
Town of New Braintree552-
Town of Northborough39--
Town of Northbridge27--
Town of Oakham16-8
Town of Oxford53--
Town of Paxton34--
Town of Petersham72--
Town of Princetown701-
Town of Royalston30--
Town of Rutland42--
Town of Shrewsbury274-
Town of Southborough29-1
Town of Spencer50--
Town of Sterling627-
Town of Sturbridge43--
Town of Sutton397-
Town of Templeton50--
Town of Upton255-
Town of Uxbridge257-
Town of Ward28--
Town of Westborough16152
Town of Western693-
Town of Westminster583-
Town of Winchendon18--
Town of Worcester61--

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, at least 4924 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.
Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 3, 1793.
Greenfield Gazette (Greenfield, MA). April 4, 1793.
Thomas's Massachusetts Spy: Or, The Worcester Gazette (Worcester, MA). April 4, 1793.
Western Star (Stockbridge, MA). April 9, 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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