Mark W. Buyck, III: The Presidential Election of 1960

story by Mark W. Buyck, III

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1960

The last six decades have seen six of the closest elections in America’s history. The founding fathers, in their wisdom, provided for the Electoral College in the United States Constitution. Under this system, electoral votes are cast by state rather than a nationwide popular vote. There have been five occasions in United States history when the winning presidential candidate lost the national popular vote yet prevailed in the Electoral College. This occurred in 2000 when George W. Bush defeated Vice President Al Gore and again in 2016 when Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. The 2000 election will hopefully be the closest ever experienced in this country. The difference in that election was 557 votes, President Bush’s margin of victory in the state of Florida. Had 558 of Bush’s supporters not bothered to cast their vote, Gore would have won. Likewise, if 279 of Bush’s voters had flipped and instead voted for Gore, our country could be radically different today. President Trump’s continued insistence that he won the 2020 election is not the first time a losing presidential candidate questioned the veracity of the vote count. The 1960 election between Republican Vice President Richard Nixon and Democrat Senator John F. Kennedy was the closest election in the 20th and 21st centuries measured by popular vote. Nationally, President Kennedy won by less than 119,000 votes. It was the first election with dedicated television coverage from all three national networks. When the country went to bed that night, the election had not been called as there were a number of close states. The networks in the early hours of Wednesday, mistakenly called California for Kennedy and based on that call, called the election. Over the following week, the state’s absentee ballots were counted and Nixon went from a 32,000 vote deficit to a 36,000 vote win in his home state. Nixon conceded the day after the election and Kennedy began his preparations for office. In the ensuing days, questions began arising about the conduct of the election in two of the largest states, Ohio and Texas. The Democrat-dominated Cooke County Election Commission waited until all of the rural and conservative counties in Illinois had reported their votes before reporting their final tally. The final count in Illinois was a Kennedy win by 8,858 votes. Nixon carried 92 of the state’s 101 counties. Republicans challenged the Cooke County votes with the state election commission and in the courts. They were ultimately unsuccessful. Kennedy and his Vice President nominee, Lyndon Johnson, then a Senator from Texas, carried Johnson’s home state by 46,000 votes. Nixon supporters attempted to secure a recount; however, the allDemocrat Texas Board of Elections declined the request. Allegations were made that in several precincts and counties there were more votes cast than registered voters. Had Nixon carried Illinois and Texas, he would have easily carried the Electoral College and won his first election in 1960 instead of 1968.

On election night, Hawaii was called for Nixon. Hawaii’s acting Republican Governor quickly certified Hawaii’s electors for the Vice President. Democrats continued to contest Nixon’s 141 vote margin and petition the courts for a recount. The state court ordered a recount of the votes which was not completed before the deadline established by the federal Electoral Count Act. When the recount was completed, it showed that Kennedy had won by 115 votes. Both the Democrat and Republican electors were presented to the United States Congress on January 6, 1961. Nixon, in the Vice President’s role, was presiding over the Senate. He graciously announced, “without the intent of establishing a precedent, I request unanimous consent that Hawaii’s three votes be counted for Kennedy.” During the 1960 election, there were ten states decided by less than 10,000 votes, including South Carolina, which Kennedy carried by 9,571 votes. If Nixon had selectively flipped 5,700 votes in Illinois, Hawaii, and New Mexico, he would have had the electoral votes necessary for election.

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