William Smith (Politiker, 1762)

William Smith (September 6, 1762-June 26, 1840). He served in the U.S. Senate representing South Carolina from 1816 to 1823. In the presidential election of 1836, 23 electors from Virginia voted for him for Vice President. Those same Virginia electors had voted for Martin Van Buren for President and were pledged to vote for Van Buren's running mate Richard M. Johnson, but instead cast their votes for Smith. This denied Johnson the electoral majority and resulted in the only vice presidential contest so far that needed to be determined by the Senate. The Senate elected Johnson Vice President. This was not the first time that electors had voted for Smith. In the election of 1828, seven electors from Georgia voted for Smith rather than John C. Calhoun.