After the emotional ending of the previous song, Thomas Jefferson lightens the mood by asking if they can "get back to politics" and James Madison (still crying) agrees.
While Alexander Hamilton, who dislikes both Jefferson and Burr and is still in mourning from the death of his son, is repeatedly questioned on who he would rather support, he refuses to answer.
In the next number, "Your Obedient Servant", Burr challenges Hamilton to a duel out of anger for this endorsement.
However, when political parties began to run both presidential and vice presidential candidates, it became apparent that the election would result in a tie between Jefferson and Burr, since they were from the same political party and would each receive one vote from every elector from a state the two had won.
[2][3] In Chiafalo v. Washington, a case before the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Elena Kagan alluded to "The Election of 1800" in handing down her decision.
Instead of singing about the contest between Jefferson and Burr, the new lyrics emphasize the importance of the then-upcoming election.