1819 special election in Georgia to fill a congressional vacancy
Georgia's at-large congressional district special election, 1819 was called to fill a vacancy created when the former congressman was elected to the United States Senate.
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Georgia's at-large congressional district special election, 1819 was called to fill a vacancy created when the former congressman was elected to the United States Senate.
A special election was held in Georgia's at-large congressional district on January 4, 1819 to fill vacancies left in both the 15th and 16th Congresses by the resignation of John Forsyth (DR) upon being elected to the Senate, after having been re-elected the previous year to the House. At the time, Congressional terms began March 4, his resignation thus created a vacancy in the remainder of the 15th Congress as well as in the upcoming 16th Congress.
Election results reported at the time appear to indicate that a single election was held for both vacancies in most counties of Georgia. One newspaper reports two sets of returns for Richmond County, suggesting that that county may have been the only one that held separate ballots for both vacancies [1]
| Candidate | Party | Votes [2] | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert R. Reid | Democratic-Republican | 5,543 | 66.7% |
| Homer Virgil Milton | [3] | 2,772 | 33.3% |
Reid took his seat on February 18, 1819, near the end of the Second Session of the 15th Congress. [4]
Delaware became a U.S. state in 1787, which allowed it to send congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives beginning with the 1st United States Congress in 1789. Voters in each state elect two senators to serve for six years, and members of the House to two-year terms. Before 1914 United States Senators were chosen by the Delaware General Assembly and before 1935 all congressional terms began March 4.
The 1820–21 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between July 3, 1820 and August 10, 1821. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 17th United States Congress convened on December 3, 1821. They coincided with President James Monroe winning reelection unopposed.
The 1818–19 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 26, 1818 and August 12, 1819. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 16th United States Congress convened on December 6, 1819. They occurred during President James Monroe's first term. Also, newly admitted Alabama elected its first representatives in September 1819, increasing the size of the House to 186 seats.
The 1802 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from April 27 to 29, 1802, to elect 17 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 8th United States Congress.
The 1804 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from April 24 to 26, 1804, to elect 17 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 9th United States Congress. At the same time, a vacancy was filled in the 8th United States Congress.
The 1806 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from April 29 to May 1, 1806, to elect 17 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 10th United States Congress.
The 1808 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from April 26 to 28, 1808, to elect 17 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 11th United States Congress. At the same time, a vacancy was filled in the 10th United States Congress.
The 1810 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from April 24 to 26, 1810, to elect 17 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 12th United States Congress. At the same time, a vacancy was filled in the 11th United States Congress.
The 1812 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from December 15 to 17, 1812, to elect 27 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 13th United States Congress. At the same time, a vacancy was filled in the 12th United States Congress.
The 1816 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from April 23 to 25, 1816, to elect 27 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 15th United States Congress. At the same time, a vacancy was filled in the 14th United States Congress.
The 1818 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from April 28 to 30, 1818, to elect 27 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 16th United States Congress.
The 1821 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from April 24 to 26, 1821, to elect 27 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 17th United States Congress.
The 1822 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held from November 4 to 6, 1822, to elect 34 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 18th United States Congress.
A special election was held in Maryland's 7th congressional district to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of John Brown (DR) to accept a position as clerk of the county court of Queen Anne's County. Brown had earlier been re-elected to the 12th Congress, thus, his resignation created vacancies in both the 11th and 12th Congresses. Unusually, a single ballot was used for both vacancies. This was the first of at least three examples of this sort of dual-vacancy being filled with one ballot.
A special election was held in Georgia's at-large congressional district on December 13, 1813 to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of William W. Bibb (DR) on November 6, 1813, after being elected to the Senate.
During the 15th Congress, there were two special elections in the 6th district of Pennsylvania, both held in the year 1818. The 6th district at that time was a plural district with two seats, both of which became vacant at different times in 1818. The first vacancy was caused by John Ross (DR) resigning on February 24, 1818 and the second was caused by Samuel D. Ingham (DR) resigning July 6.
A special election was held in Georgia's at-large congressional district in 1824 to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Thomas W. Cobb (C-DR) upon his election to the Senate
Special elections were held in Maryland's 5th congressional district on January 1, 1823, to fill vacancies in the 17th and 18th Congresses caused by the resignation of Samuel Smith (DR) after being elected to the Senate. Smith had been re-elected to the House in October. His resignation therefore created vacancies both in the remainder of the 17th Congress and in the 18th Congress.
This was the first election in Maine since its separation from Massachusetts. In the previous election, Massachusetts had had 20 representatives. Seven seats were reassigned from Massachusetts to Maine. In addition, under the terms of the law which admitted Maine to the union, any vacancies in the 16th Congress by Representatives elected to represent Massachusetts but residing in the new states of Maine would be filled by a resident of Maine. John Holmes, who had been elected to the House for the former 14th district of Massachusetts was elected as one of the first two senators for Maine. The vacancy was filled in a special election by Joseph Dane (Federalist). Dane was the only Representative officially considered as representing Maine in the 16th Congress. The Representatives from the 15th-20th districts were still classified as being from Massachusetts for the remainder of the 16th Congress.
