The 1876 presidential election of Rio Blanco took place on 4 August 1876, to elect the president of Rio Blanco. In this election, two voting methods were used:
- In the first round, a council of 50 men (the Major Councillors) voted;
- In the second round, 35,000 people voted.
Lt. Gen. Edwin Lanceton (Home Guard Party) was elected first President of the new country. After the election, Henry C. Coss and his supporters split from the Home Guard Party and created the Constitution Party, still active today.
Candidates
Home Guard
The newly-constituted Home Guard Party saw an internal division between Lanceton and Coss.
| Issue
|
Lanceton
|
Coss
|
| Make Spanish a co-official language
|
No
|
Yes
|
| Make Rio Blanco a confessional state
|
No
|
Yes
|
| Apply death penalty
|
Yes
|
No
|
| Allow women to vote and run for political offices
|
No
|
Yes (voting only)
|
| Apply conscription
|
Yes
|
No
|
| Give autonomy to states
|
Yes
|
No
|
Lancetonian faction
- Edwin Lanceton (with Montrose Garner as running mate)
- John Hillinker (with Thomas Adlai Ross as running mate)
- James Headland (with Stuart Sunderland as running mate)
Cossian faction
- Henry Campbell Coss (with Samuel Hooker as running mate)
- Adam St. Andrew (with Clifford Skyler as running mate)
Liberty
- Virgil Staunton (with Nicholas Kempler as running mate)
Independents
- Humbertus Mastelroy
- Richard Foxborough
- Julian Dimmel
First round (1 August)Second round (4 August)
| Candidate (Party)
|
% of voters
|
| Edwin Lanceton/Montrose Garner (HG)
|
72
|
| Henry Campbell Coss/Thomas A. Ross (HG)
|
20
|
| Virgil Staunton/Nicholas Kempler (L)
|
8
|
| Humbertus Mastelroy (Ind.)
|
0 (Eliminated)
|
| Richard Foxborough (Ind.)
|
0 (Eliminated)
|
| Julian Dimmel/Tiberius McClennan (Ind.)
|
0 (Eliminated)
|
| Invalid/Blank votes
|
0
|
