Why does it not work to use multiple "if"s but it does work to use "if"s and "else if"s inside a while loop?

This was my code without using else if:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
    long s = 0, t = 0, n = 0;
    int c;
    while ((c = getchar()) != EOF)
        if (c == ' ')
            ++s;
        if (c == '\t')
            ++t;
        if (c == '\n')
            ++n;
    printf("spaces: %d tabulations: %d newlines: %d", s, t, n);
}

This is the code using else if:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
    long s = 0, t = 0, n = 0;
    int c;
    while ((c = getchar()) != EOF)
        if (c == ' ')
            ++s;
        else if (c == '\t')
            ++t;
        else if (c == '\n')
            ++n;
    printf("spaces: %d tabulations: %d newlines: %d", s, t, n);
}

For a reason, not using the else if doesn't work. What is the reason? I know that using if does it one by one while using else if stops at the first statement that is true. This has a difference in performance. Anyhow not using else if in this particular (if not other) while loop doesn't seem to work.

Thanks.