America's Elections Have Come A Long Way, Baby

America's Elections Have Come A Long Way, Baby

While general elections in the United States may seem highly regulated and bureaucratized, it wasn't always that way.

Bustle reports that during the first election in 1789, only white men who owned property could vote.

That rule excluded a whopping 94 percent of the population.

The Constitution didn't define a specific Election Day, either.

In fact, in the early 1800s, people could vote anywhere from April to December.

Elections are only held on Tuesdays because people had to travel by buggy to vote.

Sunday church couldn't be disrupted, and Wednesday was market day.

Until 1804, presidential nominees didn't name a running mate.

Instead, the candidate who got the second most number of votes became the vice president.

Dozens of states used to have laws restricting buying alcohol on Election Day, to prevent people from buying or selling votes.

South Carolina was the last state to do away with their laws, in 2014.