The
United States presidential election of 1876 was the 23rd quadrennial
presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 1876. It was one of the most contentious and controversial
presidential elections in American history. The results of the election remain among the most disputed ever, although there is no question that
Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Ohio's
Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote. After a first count of votes, Tilden won 184
electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes unresolved. These 20 electoral votes were in dispute in four states: in the case of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, each party reported its candidate had won the state, while in Oregon one elector was declared illegal (as an "elected or appointed official") and replaced. The question of who should have been awarded these electoral votes is the source of the continued controversy concerning the results of this election.