In the Election of 1876, the Democrat candidate Samuel Tilden was one vote shy of winning the Electoral College. The problem was that four states were not being counted because of electoral disputes. Three of those states were in the south, LA, SC and FL (why is it always Florida), and the Democrats had taken back control of those states by 1876. Tilden only needed one of those states to win the election but instead a committee was formed to decide who would carry those states and the presidency. The committee was made up of seven Republicans, seven Democrats and one independent. Everyone voted the party line, so the presidency fell to just one man, David Davis. Not wanting the pressure Davis resigned. Because Davis was a member of the Supreme Court, his replacement was nominated by the Republican President Grant who brought in a Republican judge who sided with the Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes. Election controversy is not new.
Historically Speaking 