March 1844 Chicago mayoral election

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March 1844 Chicago mayoral election
←  1843 March 4, 1844 [1] 1844 (April)  →
 
Nominee Augustus Garrett George DoleHenry Smith
Party Democratic Whig Liberty
Popular vote805798193
Percentage44.82%44.43%10.75%
Mayor before election

Augustus Garrett
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Result of election voided

In the Chicago mayoral election of March 1844 Democrat Augustus Garrett was reelected, defeating Whig candidate George Dole by a margin of only 7 votes out of 1,796 votes cast. [1] [2] [3] The results of this election were ultimately voided by the Common Council. [2] A new election was conducted in April. [1]

Contents

Campaign

In February incumbent mayor Augustus Garrett was unanimously nominated by the Democratic Party to run for reelection. [4] George Dole was the Whig Party nominee. [4] Also running was abolitionist Henry Smith. [4]

Results

March 1844 Chicago mayoral election [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Augustus Garrett (incumbent)80544.82
Whig George Dole79844.43
Liberty Henry Smith19310.75
Turnout 1,796100.00

Voiding the election results

The Common Council investigated allegations that the Democrats had conducted electoral fraud in the mayoral election. [2] Whigs alleged that the Democrats had bought votes, violated the secrecy of ballots in two wards (the 3rd and 5th), and altering the clocks at election places. The council assembled an investigating committee which heard more than two weeks of testimony from more than thirty witnesses. [2] While the committee ignored many allegations, the council nevertheless ordered for a new election to be conducted on the grounds that clerks in wards had been unqualified to vote. [2] [5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Alfred Theodore, Andreas (1844). History of Chicago: Ending with the year 1857. Chicago.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Einhorn, Robin L. (2001). Property Rules: Political Economy in Chicago, 1833-1872. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 34–36.
  3. ↑ https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-augustus-garrett-biography/
  4. 1 2 3 4 Goodspeed, Weston A. (Feb 6, 2017). The History of Cook County, Illinois. Jazzybee Verlag.
  5. ↑ Garrett, Augustus (March 7, 1844). "Inaugural Address of Mayor Augustus Garrett". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
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