JOHN KENNEDY, RICHARD NIXON, AND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1960
AN OVERVIEW OF THE 1960 ELECTION Total Vote—68.8 million JFK—34. 2 million (49.7%) 303 EV RMN—34.1 million (49.5%)—219 EV
MAJOR FEATURES OF THE ELECTION 1.Very high voter turnout—61.6% 2.First TV presidential debates 3.Religious issue—JFK first Catholic President 4.New kind of campaign—JFK 5.New political journalism— Theodore White, The Making of the President 1960
KEY ISSUE—WHY DOES NIXON AGREE TO DEBATE KENNEDY?
KEY ISSUE—WHAT WAS THE EFFECT OF RELIGION ON THE ELECTION? University of Michigan study published in American Political Science Review (June 1961) JFK lost 3.0 million votes because of religion
KEY ISSUE—DID VOTE FRAUD AFFECT THE ELECTION OUTCOME? The Case of Illinois (27 EV) Total vote—4,757,409 JFK margin JFK margin in Cook County—319,000 JFK margin in Chicago—456,000
Election Machinery in Cook County and Chicago voting precincts in county precincts in Chicago voting machine precincts paper ballot precincts