To Everyone & Anyone,

If you care at all about democracy in America, do NOT stop talking about
this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_United_States_presidential_election

Some highlights:

#1: Kennedy won 303 to 219 in the Electoral College, and he won the
reported national popular vote by 112,827, a margin of 0.17 percent.
Fourteen unpledged electors from Mississippi and Alabama cast their vote
for Senator Harry F. Byrd, as did a faithless elector from Oklahoma. The
1960 presidential election was the closest election since 1916, and this
closeness can be explained by a number of factors.[3] Kennedy benefited
from the economic recession of 1957–1958, which hurt the standing of the
incumbent Republican Party, and he had the advantage of 17 million more
registered Democrats than Republicans.[4] Furthermore, the new votes
that Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, gained among Catholics almost
neutralized the new votes Nixon gained among Protestants.[5] Nixon's
advantages came from Eisenhower's popularity, and the economic
prosperity of the past eight years. Kennedy strategically focused on
campaigning in populous swing states, while Nixon exhausted time and
resources campaigning in all fifty states. Kennedy emphasized his youth,
while Nixon focused heavily on his experience. Kennedy relied on Johnson
to hold the South, and used television effectively. Despite this,
Kennedy's popular vote margin was the second narrowest in presidential
history, only surpassed by the 0.11% margin of the election of 1880 and
the smallest ever for a Democrat (notwithstanding the presidential
elections where the winners lost the popular vote).

#2: Nixon made a speech at about 3 am, and hinted that Kennedy might
have won the election. News reporters were puzzled, as it was not a
formal concession speech. He talked of how Kennedy would be elected if
"the present trend continues".[72] It was not until the afternoon of the
next day that Nixon finally conceded the election, and Kennedy claimed
his victory.

#3: There were widespread allegations of vote fraud, especially in
Texas, where Kennedy's running mate Lyndon B. Johnson was Senator, and
Illinois, home of Mayor Richard Daley's powerful Chicago political
machine.[74] These two states were important because if Nixon had
carried both, he would have earned 270 electoral votes, one more than
the 269 needed to win the presidency. Republican senators such as
Everett Dirksen and Barry Goldwater claimed vote fraud "played a role in
the election",[71] and that Nixon actually won the national popular
vote. Earl Mazo, a journalist who was Nixon's biographer, made
accusations of voter fraud.[83]

Nixon's campaign staff urged him to pursue recounts and challenge the
validity of Kennedy's victory in several states, especially Illinois,
Missouri, and New Jersey, where large majorities in Catholic precincts
handed Kennedy the election.[71] However, Nixon gave a speech three days
after the election, stating that he would not contest the election.[71]
The Republican National chairman, Senator Thruston Ballard Morton of
Kentucky, visited Key Biscayne, Florida, where Nixon had taken his
family for a vacation, and pushed for a recount.[71] Morton challenged
the results in 11 states,[74][84] keeping challenges in the courts into
mid-1961, but the only result of these challenges was the loss of Hawaii
to Kennedy on a recount.