Maryland Becomes First State to Join National Popular Vote Compact
In 2007, Maryland became the first state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement to award electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The…
The Enfranchisement of the Capital: Ratifying the Twenty-Third Amendment
The Twenty-Third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961, granted residents of Washington, D.C., the right to vote in presidential elections. This reform addressed a long-standing grievance by…
The Pennsylvania Deadlock: A Crisis of Electors in the Revolution of 1800
In 1800, a partisan deadlock in the Pennsylvania legislature nearly deprived the state of its electoral votes during the presidential contest between Adams and Jefferson. The eventual compromise split the…
The Commission of 1877: Resolving the Disputed Election Crisis
The 1876 presidential election between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes resulted in a constitutional crisis over disputed electoral returns in the United States. Congress established a fifteen-member Electoral Commission…
The Constitutional Correction: How the Twelfth Amendment Reshaped the American Presidency
The Twelfth Amendment was ratified in 1804 to reform the United States Electoral College after the tied election of 1800. It required electors to cast separate votes for president and…