The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards,[1] forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.

The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, was: Republican 563,000; Democratic 518,000; and Greenback 13,000.

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1881; and adjourned on July 23.

Conkling believed that they would be re-elected by the New York State Legislature and would thus show Garfield that they were in a balance of power position.

[4] On July 22, Congressman Elbridge G. Lapham was elected on the 56th ballot to succeed Conkling,[5] thus ending 53 days of deadlock, the second longest in the history of the New York Legislature.