I would rather be defeated with the soldier vote behind me than to be...

[RJNorton]

David, here is what I think happened. The Election of 1864 was held during wartime. The party in power was determined to be re-elected as it wanted to see to it that the war ended in the way that party wanted. There was worry in that party that it might not be re-elected. So, therefore, in order to garner as many votes as possible, people such as Edwin Stanton and Abraham Lincoln may have "stretched" things somewhat in order to gain as many votes as possible from the soldiers. I do not blame them as that is the way it is in the USA, as the two parties always look for ways to win elections. 1864 was an extraordinary time, and I think the governing party (for a time called the National Union Party) looked at every possibility of staying in power. The idea of "bending the rules" to gain more soldier votes was simply a natural outcome of this. I do not in the slightest have a lesser opinion of President Lincoln because of the way things may have gone down.