1863 Sierran federal election
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None of the 33 seats in the K.S. Senate All 50 seats in the K.S. House of Commons 26 seats needed for majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 556,793 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 18.26% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 A map presenting the results of the election, by party of the MP elected from each constituency. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2.8%
The 1863 Sierran federal election was the second federal election. It was held from September 1 to October 16, 1863 to elect members of the House of Commons of the 3rd Parliament of Sierra. It was the first parliamentary election to feature a third party contest in the election and win seats in the House. Prime Minister Frederick Bachelor, Sr. and the Royalists retained control over the House but lost several seats to the Democratic-Republicans and the Whigs. While the Democratic-Republicans' gains were relatively modest, the election demonstrated growing strength of the party within the Styxie, which concerned the Royalists. Three parliamentary districts in San Francisco were narrowly won by the Royalists, further indicating the government's eroding confidence among some of its party base.
Under the first premiership of Bachelor, Sr., the Sierran government promoted a domestic policy grounded on free trade, open immigration, and industrialism. Sierra's aristocratic class was also emerging, receiving the patronage and support by the King and the Royalists, who issued over 50 substantive titles of nobility. Sierra's rapid industrialization was fueled by wealthy industrialists and entrepreneurs who invested millions of dollars into infrastructure and transportation in order to strengthen Sierra's international trade, especially within the San Francisco Bay Area.
The policies of the Royalists were met with angry opposition by the Democratic-Republicans who perceived the changes as signs of Sierra moving towards an autocratic society that was indifferent to the popular masses. The Democratic-Republicans under Ulysses Perry favored curtailing the role and power of the Monarch while supporting agricultural workers and farmers. He and his party supported protectionist policies, the adoption of the silver standard, legal recognition and protection of labor unions, and slowing down immigration, especially from China.
Leland Stanford, an industrialist and robber baron led the Whigs, positioned himself as a moderate. He backed Sierra's continued industrial progress but also supported populist proposals including the creation of worker-owned cooperatives, switching from the gold standard to a land value-based currency, and limiting Sierra's immigration.
Results
Summary of results
| ↓ | ||||
| 29 | 19 | 2 | ||
| Royalist | Democratic-Republican | Whig | ||
| Party | Votes | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalist | 60,392 | 59.4% |
29 / 50 (58%)
| |
| Democratic-Republican | 37,415 | 36.8% |
19 / 50 (38%)
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| Whig | 3,863 | 2.8% |
2 / 50 (4%)
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Detailed analysis
| Party | Party leader | # of candidates |
Seats | Popular vote | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1858 | Elected | % Change | # | % | pp Change | ||||
| Royalist | Frederick Bachelor, Sr. | 72 | 33 | 29 | -12.12% | 60,392 | 59.40% | –5.4 pp | |
| Democratic-Republican | Ulysses Perry | 80 | 17 | 19 | 11.76% | 37,415 | 36.80% | +1.6 pp | |
| Whig | Leland Stanford | 20 | – | 2 | – | 3,863 | 2.80% | – | |
| Total | 172 | 50 | 50 | 0.00% | 41,721 | 100.00% | |||
Results by province
| Party name | CV | GC | LG | MA | MO | PL | SF | SJ | SC | SH | RN | TA | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalist | Seats: | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | |
| Popular votes: | 16.5 | 84.3 | 85.6 | 47.3 | 38.0 | 42.4 | 69.6 | 23.7 | 24.3 | 29.8 | 18.5 | 18.0 | 59.4 | ||
| Democratic-Republican | Seats: | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 19 | |
| Popular votes: | 82.9 | 15.4 | 14.3 | 52.5 | 61.9 | 57.1 | 25.5 | 75.4 | 75.0 | 69.6 | 80.2 | 81.7 | 36.8 | ||
| Whig | Seats: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Popular votes: | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 2.8 | ||
| Independent/Other | Seats: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Popular votes: | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | ||
| Total seats: | 1 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50 | ||
