Wednesday, February 13.
Counting of Electoral Votes for President and Vice President.
About twelve o’clock the Senators took their seats; and immediately after the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives entered; the Speaker and Clerk occupying seats on the floor on the right side of the President of the Senate, and the members of the House being seated in front.
Mr. Samuel Smith, teller on the part of the Senate, and Mr. Joseph Clay, and Mr. Roger Griswold, tellers on the part of the House, took seats at a table placed in front of the Chair, in the area between the Senate and House.
The Secretary of the Senate read the resolutions of the two Houses, previously agreed to.
The President (Mr. Burr) stated that, pursuant to law, there had been transmitted to him several packets, which, from the endorsements upon them, appeared to be the votes of the Electors of a President and Vice President; that the returns forwarded by the mail, as well as the duplicates sent by special messengers, had been received by him in due time. You will now proceed, gentlemen, said he, to count the votes as the constitution and laws direct; adding that, perceiving no cause for preference in the order of opening the returns, he would pursue a geographical arrangement, beginning with the Northern States.
The President then proceeded to break the seals of the respective returns, handing each return, and its accompanying duplicate, as the seals of each were broken, to the tellers through, the Secretary; Mr. S. Smith reading aloud the returns, and the attestations of the appointment of the Electors, and Mr. J. Clay and Mr. R. Griswold comparing them with the duplicate return lying before them.
According to which enumeration, the following appeared to be the result.
| STATES. | President. | V. Pres’dt | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Th. Jefferson. | C. C. Pinckney. | Geo. Clinton. | Rufus King. | |
| New Hampshire | 7 | - | 7 | |
| Massachusetts | 19 | - | 19 | |
| [A]Rhode Island | 4 | - | 4 | |
| Connecticut | - | - | - | 9 |
| Vermont | 6 | - | 6 | |
| New York | 19 | - | 19 | |
| New Jersey | 8 | - | 8 | |
| Pennsylvania | 20 | - | 20 | |
| Delaware | - | 3 | - | 3 |
| Maryland | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| Virginia | 24 | - | 24 | |
| North Carolina | 14 | - | 14 | |
| South Carolina | 10 | - | 10 | |
| [B]Georgia | 6 | - | 6 | |
| Tennessee | 5 | - | 5 | |
| Kentucky | 8 | - | 8 | |
| [C]Ohio | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Total | 162 | 14 | 162 | 14 |
[A] In this return, after stating the whole number of votes given for Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton, each Elector certifies distinctly his vote for Thomas Jefferson as President, and for George Clinton, as Vice President.
[B] The return certifies the votes to have been given as stated in an enclosed paper.
[C] In this return, the votes are not certified to have been given by ballot, but agreeably to law.
After the returns had been all examined, without any objection having been made to receiving any of the votes, Mr. S. Smith, on behalf of the tellers, communicated to the President the foregoing result, which was read from the Chair; when, the Vice President said, upon this report it becomes my duty to declare, agreeably to the constitution, that Thomas Jefferson is elected President of the United States, for the term of four years from the third day of March next, and that George Clinton is elected Vice President of the United States, for the term of four years from the third day of March next.
[Previous to the above proceedings, a short debate arose in the Senate on the keeping of the doors open or shut during the counting of the votes. Mr. Wright submitted a motion for their being kept open, which, after some opposition, was agreed to.]