1844 Chicago mayoral elections

none January 2025 September 2023 The 1844 Chicago mayoral elections is the first of only two instances in which a Chicago mayoral election was declared invalid (the other being the disputed April 1876 mayoral election). As a result of the Common Council declaring the result of the city's March 1844 mayoral election null and void, a second election was held in April. While the result of the March election had been a victory for incumbent mayor Augustus Garrett, Garrett was defeated in the April election by Alson Sherman, who had not been a candidate in March. March election March 1844 Chicago mayoral election presidential no 1843 1844 (April) March 4, 1844Alfred Theodore Andreas History of Chicago: Ending with the year 1857 1844 Chicago Augustusgarrett (1).jpeg Augustus Garrett Democratic Party (United States) 805 44.82% 3x4.svg George W. Dole Whig Party (United States) 798 44.43% Mayor Augustus Garrett Democratic Party (United States) Result of election voided 3x4.svg Henry Smith Liberty Party (United States, 1840) 193 10.75% In the Chicago mayoral election of March 1844, Democrat Augustus Garrett was reelected, defeating Whig nominee George W. Dole by a margin of only seven votes out of 1,796 votes cast.https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-augustus-garrett-biography/ Mayor Augustus Garrett Biography Campaign In February incumbent mayor Augustus Garrett was unanimously nominated by the Democratic Party to run for reelection.Goodspeed Weston A. The History of Cook County, Illinois Feb 6, 2017 Jazzybee Verlag George W. Dole was the Whig Party nominee. Also running was abolitionist Henry Smith, making this the third consecutive Chicago mayoral election he competed in. Results March 1844 Chicago mayoral election Democratic Party (United States) Augustus Garrett (incumbent) 805 44.82 Whig Party (United States) George W. Dole 798 44.43 Liberty Party (United States, 1840) Henry Smith 193 10.75 1,796 Had the results of this election not been overturned, Garrett would have become the first individual to be elected to two consecutive terms as mayor of Chicago. This accolade instead went to James H. Woodworth in 1849. Voiding of the March election The Common Council investigated allegations that the Democrats had conducted electoral fraud in the mayoral election.Einhorn Robin L. Property Rules: Political Economy in Chicago, 1833-1872 University of Chicago Press Chicago 34–36 2001 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 Common Council assembled an investigating committee which heard more than two weeks of testimony from more than thirty witnesses. While the committee ignored many allegations, the Common Council, nevertheless, ordered for a new election to be conducted on the grounds that clerks in wards had been unqualified to vote. Garrett Augustus Augustus Garrett Inaugural Address of Mayor Augustus Garrett Chicago Public Library March 7, 1844 http://www.chipublib.org/mayor-augustus-garrett-inaugural-address-1844/ April 15, 2014 April election April 1844 Chicago mayoral election presidential no 1844 (March) 1845 Alsonsherman (1).jpeg Alson Sherman Independent Democrat 837 50.51% Augustusgarrett (1).jpeg Augustus Garrett Democratic Party (United States) 694 41.88% Mayor Augustus Garrett Democratic Party (United States) Alson Sherman Independent Democrat 3x4.svg Henry Smith Liberty Party (United States, 1840) 126 7.60% In the Chicago mayoral election of April 1844, Independent Democrat Alson Sherman defeated Democratic incumbent Augustus Garrett and Liberty Party nominee Henry Smith by a 9-point margin. Results April 1844 Chicago mayoral electionChicago Mayors, 1837-2007 http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1443.html www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org 2 January 2021Chicago Mayor Our Campaigns http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=486023 2018-12-12 Independent Democrat Alson Sherman 837 50.51 Democratic Party (United States) Augustus Garrett (incumbent) 694 41.88 Liberty Party (United States, 1840) Henry Smith 126 7.60 1,657 References collapsed 1844 Chicago Chicago Category:1840s in Chicago Category:March 1844