One elector in Minnesota cast a ballot for president with the name of "John Ewards"  [sic] written on it. The Electoral College officials certified this ballot as a vote for John Edwards for president. The remaining nine electors cast ballots for John Kerry. All ten electors in the state cast ballots for John Edwards for vice president (John Edwards's name was spelled correctly on all ballots for vice president). This was the first time in U.S. history that an elector had cast a vote for the same person to be both president and vice president; another faithless elector in the 1800 election had voted twice for Aaron Burr, but under that electoral system only votes for the president's position were cast, with the runner-up in the Electoral College becoming vice president (and the second vote for Burr was discounted and re-assigned to Thomas Jefferson in any event, as it violated Electoral College rules).
Who received a certified ballot from the Electoral College, despite his name being spelled incorrectly on the ballot? Had there ever been a time where an elector voted for the same candidate to be both president and vice president? Which candidate won the unanimous vote for vice presidency? What is different in comparison between the 1800 electoral system and the system in place in 2004? In the 1800 election, why did Thomas Jefferson get the second vote?