| Election Name: | 1868 Argentine general election |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Votes For Election: | 156 members of the Electoral College |
| Needed Votes: | 79 |
| Previous Election: | 1862 Argentine presidential election |
| Previous Year: | 1862 |
| Next Election: | 1874 Argentine presidential election |
| Next Year: | 1874 |
| Election Date: | 12 April 1868 |
| Nominee1: | Domingo Sarmiento |
| Party1: | Independent |
| Color1: | D3D3D3 |
| Running Mate1: | Adolfo Alsina |
| Electoral Vote1: | 79 |
| States Carried1: | 7 |
| Percentage1: | 60.3% |
| Nominee2: | Justo José de Urquiza |
| Party2: | Federal |
| Color2: | B31B1B |
| Electoral Vote2: | 26 |
| States Carried2: | 3 |
| Percentage2: | 19.8% |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Bartolomé Mitre |
| Before Party: | Liberal Party |
| After Election: | Domingo Sarmiento |
| After Party: | Independent |
| Map Size: | 200px |
The Argentine presidential election of 1868 was held on 12 April to choose the president of Argentina. Domingo Sarmiento was elected.
Presiding over a prosperous economy overshadowed somewhat by the costly Paraguayan War, President Mitre was at pains to avoid risking the tenuous national unity his administration had secured. Though he hand-picked prospective candidates, Mitre avoided the appearance of direct support for any one figure, while limiting the field to those he considered acceptable. Electors from Buenos Aires Province favored Autonomist Party candidate Adolfo Alsina, who was instead persuaded by Mitre to run for the vice-presidency. The nomination was handed to the Ambassador to the United States, Domingo Sarmiento, who remained at his post and did not campaign. Mitre also supported former Unitarian Party leader Rufino de Elizalde and his running mate General Wenceslao Paunero, a key figure in Mitre's victory at the Battle of Pavón. These candidates were all preferred by the president over that year's dark horse, former President Justo José de Urquiza (whom Mitre attempted to dissuade from running for fear of the separatist conflict his presence might provoke).[1]
These candidates were, with the exception of Sarmiento, contentious in many circles and provided the new system its first real test. The electoral college met on 12 April 1868, and selected Sarmiento by 79 out of 131 votes, making this the only closely contested race during this era.[2]
| Argentine Republic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,688,000 | |
| Voters | 16,900 | |
| Turnout | 1% | |
| Presidential Candidates | Party | Electoral Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domingo Sarmiento | Independent | 79 | |
| Justo José de Urquiza | Federalist | 26 | |
| Rufino de Elizalde | Liberal Party | 22 | |
| Guillermo Rawson | Nacionalista | 3 | |
| Dalmacio Vélez Sarsfield | Unitarian | 1 | |
| Total voters | 131 | ||
| Did not vote | 25 | ||
| Total | 156 | ||
| Vice Presidential Candidates | Party | Electoral Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adolfo Alsina | Autonomist | 82 | |
| Wenceslao Paunero | Unitarian | 45 | |
| Manuel Anselmo Ocampo | — | 2 | |
| Juan Bautista Alberdi | — | 1 | |
| Francisco de las Carreras | — | 1 | |
| Total voters | 131 | ||
| Did not vote | 25 | ||
| Total | 156 | ||
| Province | President | Vice President | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarmiento | Urquiza | de Elizalde | Rawson | Vélez Sarsfield | Alsina | Paunero | Ocampo | Alberdi | de las Carreras | |||
| 24 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| 10 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 16 | 3 | 13 | ||||||||||
| Did not vote | Did not vote | |||||||||||
| 8 | 8 | |||||||||||
| 7 | 4 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 10 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 10 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 8 | 8 | |||||||||||
| 8 | 8 | |||||||||||
| 8 | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 12 | 12 | |||||||||||
| The votes were not preserved | The votes were not preserved | |||||||||||
| Total | 79 | 26 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 82 | 45 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||