Did you know New York State didn't vote for George Washington in the very first presidential election?

In truth... it was because of a technicality. Read on.

THE 1788 - 1789 UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The election of our young country's first president was held from Monday, December 15th, 1788 to Saturday, January 10th, 1789. It was, to date, the only election in U.S. history that spanned two calendar years.

In 1788, the newly-ratified Constitution established the positions of President and Vice President. It also established the controversial Electoral College system -- although it operated slightly different than the way it does today.

According to Wikipedia:

In five states, the state legislature chose electors. The other six chose electors through some form involving a popular vote, though in only two states did the choice depend directly on a statewide vote.

There were a total of 69 electors, and all voted for the enormously popular George Washington...

...EXCEPT NEW YORK

The reason New York didn't cast their vote for Washington wasn't because they didn't like him, it was because the state did not choose their electors on time. After the Constitution was ratified in 1788, the New York State legislature was divided. Federalists and anti-federalists were still squabbling over compromises they had to make to get it signed in the first place.

The last day for choosing electors was January 7th, 1789, and New York still couldn't reach an agreement on who the electors would be. Thus, New York was unable to participate in choosing our nation's first president. 

(North Carolina and Rhode Island also didn't choose electors, because they hadn't ratified the Constitution yet.)

Each state's electors cast two votes for the president. George Washington won 69 electoral votes, making him the unanimous choice. John Adams received the second most with 34, making him the Vice President (which was the system in place at the time).

In 1792, the second U.S. presidential election -- and the first New York was eligible to participate in -- George Washington was unanimously re-elected.