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1820 Presidential Election

A verified 1820 VAP estimate is unavailable; the Census series used here begins in 1828. No population count or VAP turnout is inferred from the historical VEP rate.
A verified 1820 voting-age population (VAP) estimate is unavailable here. The Census historical resident adult population series used for later elections begins in 1828. No population count, state VAP map or “Did Not Vote” segment is inferred for this year.
Voting-Age Population (VAP)
Turnout by VAP requires a verified voting-age population denominator, which is unavailable for 1820. No turnout percentage is inferred from the recorded popular votes, electoral results or the separately published historical VEP rate.
Turnout by VAP
A state VEP map and precise population-share chart are unavailable for this year. The US Elections Project has not released pre-1980 state VEP estimates because the underlying citizenship and correctional-population data are incomplete.
Voting-Eligible Population (VEP)
National turnout by VEP: 10.1%. UF Election Lab, March 2, 2026 publishes this rounded national election turnout rate, without a population count in this dataset. It uses the source’s own turnout and population estimates and is not recalculated from this page’s presidential vote total. The two turnout rates are not directly comparable. The pre-1948 historical rates were produced by Walter Dean Burnham.
Turnout by VEP

James Monroe was reelected in 1820 with 231 electoral votes. John Quincy Adams, who was not a candidate, received one; three appointed electors died before voting.

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Election History

Historical context for the 1820 election. Before the election: Democratic-Republicans held majorities in both the House and Senate.

March 6, 1820

Missouri Compromise

Congress attempted to balance slave and free states, revealing how territorial expansion threatened the Union’s political stability.

1819

Panic of 1819

A severe financial downturn exposed weaknesses in credit and banking, bringing economic hardship and distrust of financial institutions into national politics.

April 28, 1817

Rush–Bagot Agreement

Limits on naval armaments on the Great Lakes helped stabilize the U.S.–British border after the War of 1812.

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Monroe’s Cabinet

Officials who served during Monroe’s second elected term, 1821–1825. Years show full tenure in each office, including service outside the term; identified acting service is included. The Postmaster General is listed as a senior administration office; it did not formally join the Cabinet until Jackson’s presidency. Interior was not established until 1849; Agriculture did not become a Cabinet department until 1889; Commerce and Labor had not yet been established.

President: James Monroe (1817–1825)

Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins (1817–1825)

Secretary of State: John Quincy Adams (1817–1825)

Secretary of the Treasury: William H. Crawford (1816–1825)

Secretary of War: John C. Calhoun (1817–1825)

Attorney General: William Wirt (1817–1829)

Postmaster General: Return J. Meigs Jr. (1814–1823), John McLean (1823–1829)

Secretary of the Navy: Smith Thompson (1819–1823), John Rodgers (acting) (1823–1823), Samuel L. Southard (1823–1829)

Other Sources

Electoral Votes

Monroe: 231 · Electoral votes not cast: 3 · Adams: 1

231
James Monroe (Democratic-Republican)
1
John Quincy Adams (Independent-Republican)
118 to win
Running Mate: Daniel D. Tompkins
1820

Presedential Election

Democratic-Republican

State Electoral Votes

Alabama

3

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

9

Delaware

4

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

8

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

3

Indiana

3

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

12

Louisiana

3

Maine

9

Maryland

11

Massachusetts

15

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

2

Missouri

3

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

7

New Jersey

8

New Mexico

New York

29

North Carolina

15

North Dakota

Ohio

8

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

24

Rhode Island

4

South Carolina

11

South Dakota

Tennessee

7

Texas

Utah

Vermont

8

Virginia

25

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

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