<P> The election exposed one of the flaws in the original Constitution of the United States . Members of the Electoral College were authorized by the original Constitution to vote for two names for President , theoretically one for the preferred President and one for the preferred Vice President but in fact counted up into the same ballot , enabling the possibility that a vice presidential candidate could be elected President . ( The two - vote ballot was created in order to try to maximize the possibility that one candidate received votes from a majority of the electors nationwide ; the drafters of the Constitution had not anticipated the rise of organized political parties , which made it much easier to attain a nationwide majority . ) The candidate with the most electoral votes would become President and the candidate with the second most would become Vice President . The Democratic - Republicans had planned for one of the electors to abstain from casting his second vote for Aaron Burr , which would have led to Jefferson receiving one electoral vote more than Burr , making Jefferson President and Burr Vice President . The plan , however , was mishandled . Each elector who voted for Jefferson also voted for Burr , resulting in a tied electoral vote . The election was then put into the hands of the outgoing House of Representatives , which , after 35 votes in which neither Jefferson nor Burr obtained a majority , elected Jefferson on the 36th ballot . </P>
<P> The election exposed one of the flaws in the original Constitution of the United States . Members of the Electoral College were authorized by the original Constitution to vote for two names for President , theoretically one for the preferred President and one for the preferred Vice President but in fact counted up into the same ballot , enabling the possibility that a vice presidential candidate could be elected President . ( The two - vote ballot was created in order to try to maximize the possibility that one candidate received votes from a majority of the electors nationwide ; the drafters of the Constitution had not anticipated the rise of organized political parties , which made it much easier to attain a nationwide majority . ) The candidate with the most electoral votes would become President and the candidate with the second most would become Vice President . The Democratic - Republicans had planned for one of the electors to abstain from casting his second vote for Aaron Burr , which would have led to Jefferson receiving one electoral vote more than Burr , making Jefferson President and Burr Vice President . The plan , however , was mishandled . Each elector who voted for Jefferson also voted for Burr , resulting in a tied electoral vote . The election was then put into the hands of the outgoing House of Representatives , which , after 35 votes in which neither Jefferson nor Burr obtained a majority , elected Jefferson on the 36th ballot . </P>
who determined the outcome of the election or 1800
who determined the outcome of the election or 1800
House of Representatives
House of Representatives