# What's the most important event settled by one vote? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125 "2008-02-03T20:14:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/1 "2008-02-03T20:14:28Z")
What would you say was the most important event in any democracy/republic that was settled by a victory of just one vote from the public at large. (i.e Joe Average decided to get out of bed and vote, and his contribution made a noticiable difference) I’d put this in GQ, but the ‘most important’ may be too subjective. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/2 "2008-02-04T04:56:43Z")
Well, not exactly the public at large, but the first thought that came to mind was President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial in the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/3 "2008-02-04T07:36:25Z")
Another that was “not by the public at large” – I believe that when Tennessee voted to give women the right to vote, that passed the Constitutional Amendment. If I am correct, the vote in the Tennessee legislature had a one vote margin. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/4 "2008-02-04T08:29:56Z")
Of course, the 2000 US presidential election was resolved with a 5/4 SCOTUS vote, but again, this was not decided by the public at large. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/5 "2008-02-04T15:18:34Z")
I won Junior class president by only 2 votes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/6 "2008-02-04T15:27:57Z")
I lost my race for fifth-grade class president by one vote - my own. It was an open ballot, I was just trying to be a nice guy! :smack: Congress approved expansion of the draft before WW2 by a single vote, IIRC. Vice President Gore broke a tie in the Senate to approve the Clinton budget in '93. I don’t know of any major issues before the general public which were decided by just a single vote - the larger the electorate, the less likely it is that the question will come down to just a single vote. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/7 "2008-02-04T17:18:19Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] I won Junior class president by only 2 votes. [/QUOTE] Let’s try to stay on topic here! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/8 "2008-02-04T17:47:37Z")
There’s an oft repeated legend that Hitler was elected by one vote. Any truth to the story? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/9 "2008-02-04T19:14:08Z")
[QUOTE=madmonk28] Of course, the 2000 US presidential election was resolved with a 5/4 SCOTUS vote, but again, this was not decided by the public at large. [/QUOTE] heh. As put in the Daily Show’s **America: The Book** : “Chief Justice William Rehnquist was lucky enough to get to vote for George W. Bush twice. The second time counted more.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/10 "2008-02-04T19:21:22Z")
[QUOTE=Atomicktom] There’s an oft repeated legend that Hitler was elected by one vote. Any truth to the story? [/QUOTE] No. The vote was 533 for Hitler, 1 against. > **['One Vote' Fallacies](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/one-vote-fallacies/)** > > The low down on elections decided by one vote. I wonder what happened to the one dissenter. some other “one vote” myths debunked there as well. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/11 "2008-02-04T19:25:18Z")
[QUOTE=Atomicktom] There’s an oft repeated legend that Hitler was elected by one vote. Any truth to the story? [/QUOTE] No. The confusion probably came from this event, as related in [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_hitler): > [@](#): > > The DAP [German Workers’ Party] was centered in Munich, a hotbed of German nationalists who included Army officers determined to crush Marxism and undermine the Weimar republic. Gradually they noticed Hitler and his growing movement as a vehicle to hitch themselves to. Hitler traveled to Berlin to visit nationalist groups during the summer of 1921, and in his absence there was a revolt among the DAP leadership in Munich. > > The party was run by an executive committee whose original members considered Hitler to be overbearing. They formed an alliance with a group of socialists from Augsburg. Hitler rushed back to Munich and countered them by tendering his resignation from the party on July 11, 1921. When they realized the loss of Hitler would effectively mean the end of the party, he seized the moment and announced he would return on the condition that he would be given dictatorial powers. Infuriated committee members (including [party founder Anton] Drexler) held out at first. Meanwhile an anonymous pamphlet appeared entitled Adolf Hitler: Is he a traitor?, attacking Hitler’s lust for power and criticizing the violent men around him. Hitler responded to its publication in a Munich newspaper by suing for libel and later won a small settlement. > > The executive committee of the DAP eventually backed down and Hitler’s demands were put to a vote of party members. Hitler received 543 votes for and only one against. At the next gathering on 29 July 1921, Adolf Hitler was introduced as _Führer_ of the National Socialist Party, marking the first time this title was publicly used. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-settled-by-one-vote/436125/12 "2008-02-04T19:37:27Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I lost my race for fifth-grade class president by one vote - my own. It was an open ballot, I was just trying to be a nice guy! :smack: [/QUOTE] You are not alone. The prime ministerial career of [John Gorton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gorton) was ended by his own vote to break a tie in the Liberal Party caucus.