Why did the election of 1800 lead Congress to pass the Twelfth Amendment?

Question

a. no one liked who was elected president and wanted a second chance at voting.

b. the popular vote for president was a tie and congress needed to ensure it would not happen again.

c. the electoral college vote for president was a tie and congress needed to ensure that would not happen again.

d. not enough citizens voted so they wanted to mandate voting

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

c. the electoral college vote for president was a tie and congress needed to ensure that would not happen again.

The election of 1800 resulted in a tie in the Electoral College between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, which led to a protracted decision in the House of Representatives. This situation highlighted flaws in the original electoral process, prompting Congress to pass the Twelfth Amendment in 1804 to establish separate ballots for the president and vice president in the Electoral College.