For all intents and purposes, George Washington ran unopposed for election as President. Under the system then in place, each voting elector cast two votes, and the recipient of the greatest number of votes was elected President, providing they equaled or exceeded half the total number of electors. The runner-up became Vice President. At that time, the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution had not been passed and thus the electoral system for that era differs from most elections. Washington was now very popular, as he successfully presided over the Philadelphia Convention and made the US, which was weakened by the Articles of Confederation, much stronger through the new US Constitution.

The recipient of 34 electoral votes, John Adams of Massachusetts, finished second in voting and as such was elected Vice President of the United States.

As in 1789, President George Washington ran unopposed for a second term. Under the system in place then and through the election of 1800, each voting elector cast two votes — the recipient of the greatest number of votes was elected President, the second greatest number, Vice President. As with his first term, Washington is considered to have been elected unanimously.

The recipient of 77 electoral votes, Vice President John Adams, finished second in voting and was therefore re-elected Vice President of the United States.

Incumbent Vice President John Adams was a candidate for the presidency on the Federalist Party ticket with Thomas Pinckney as his running mate. Although Adams won, his opponent, Thomas Jefferson on the Democratic-Republican ticket received more votes than Pinckney and was elected Vice-President.

The election exposed one of the flaws in the original Constitution. People in the Electoral College could only vote for president; the vice president was the person who had the second largest number of votes during the election. The Democratic-Republican plan to have one elector vote for Jefferson and not Aaron Burr was bungled, resulting in a tie in the electoral vote between Jefferson and Burr. The election was then put into the hands of the outgoing Federalist Party House of Representatives. Most Federalists voted for Burr in order to block Jefferson from the presidency, and the result was a week of deadlock. Federalist Alexander Hamilton, who preferred Jefferson to Burr, intervened on Jefferson's behalf, which allowed Jefferson to ascend to the presidency.

The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, was added to the United States Constitution. It required electors to make a distinct choice between their selections for president and vice president.

Under the rules of the Twelfth Amendment, presidential electors were required to specify in their votes their choice for President and Vice President; previously, electors voted only for President, with the person who came in second becoming the Vice President. George Clinton was elected Vice President and would go on to serve under both Jefferson and his successor, James Madison.

Sitting Vice President George Clinton, who had served under Thomas Jefferson, was also a candidate for President, garnering six electoral votes from a wing of the Democratic-Republican Party that disapproved of James Madison.

This election was the first of only two instances in American history in which a new President would be selected but the incumbent Vice President would continue to serve. (The re-election of John C. Calhoun in 1828 was the other instance.)

President James Monroe and Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins were re-elected without a serious campaign.

This election is notable for being the only time since the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in which the presidential election was thrown into the House of Representatives, as no candidate received a majority of the electoral vote. This presidential election was also the only one in which the candidate receiving the most electoral votes did not become president (because a majority, not just a plurality, is required to win). It is also often said to be the first election in which the president did not win the popular vote, although the popular vote was not measured nationwide. At that time, several states did not conduct a popular vote, allowing their state legislature to choose their electors.

Unlike the 1824 election, no other major candidates appeared in the race, allowing Jackson to consolidate a power base and easily win an electoral victory over Adams.

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