In contrast to the well-organized voting procedures of today, elections during the first few decades of the new nation’s existence were often haphazard affairs. Everything from who could vote to the location of the polls to how long the polls would be open varied from state to state and often from election to election. Women could vote in New Jersey from 1776 to 1807. Riots at the polls were not uncommon. Surprisingly, too, the Framers never even anticipated the development of a two-party political system.
Early American elections subvert conventional notions that portray the development of American democracy as an orderly or systematic affair, says George Mason University history professor Rosemarie Zagarri. She explores how the idea of democracy evolved less by design and more from a constant push-and-pull between those seeking to cast their ballots and those who made the rules about when, where, and how the ballots were to be cast. William Gormley, professor emeritus of government and public policy at Georgetown University, draws some connections between the first political parties and the present.
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