Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-10-14
How Votes are TO be

Governor, &c.-How Election OF
State Officers shall be Contested.
The closeness of the vote for Governor,
ted in Greene, Cuyahoga and other ,coun-
ties in allowing negroes, black as Erebus
to vote, has drawn public attention, to the
probability of a contest of the election ol
the State officers. - o.. 57r,,., ..-l,,..
The manner of counting the votes fol
State officers, as prescribed by the Consti-
tuition, Article 3, Section 8, is as follows:
The returns of every election for tn.
officers named in the foregoing section
[Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Aud,
itor, Treasurer, Attorney General
and Secretary of State are named
in the Section referred to] shall be sealed
up and transmitted to the seat of govern
ment. by the returning officers, directed to
the President of the Senate, who, during
the first week of the session, shall open and
publish them, and declare the result i'm the
presence of majority of the members of
each House of the General Assembly. The
person having the highest number of votes
shall be declared duly elected; but if any
two or more shall be highest. and equal in
votes, for the same Office, one of them shall
be, chosen by. the joint vote of both
Housesn -. .s',s go .....I.. ..-... .--.
The law providing for contest, is as tol-
lOwS:n5 :sTgEssi ~ <i.Ia - lt.flHl}t lati
"SEcT1oN 43. That any candidate or cleo
tor being desiroas of contesting the cleo
tion of any person declared elected Gov
ernor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary OF
State, Auditor of State Treasurer of State.
Attorney General, Judge of the Supreme
Court. Member of the Board of Public
Works, Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas, or Judge of the Criminal Court of
any county, shall, between the sixth and
tenth days after the commencement of the
first General Assembly after the day of
election file notice of such intention,
with the Clerk of the Senate, specifying
the particular points on which he means
to rely. Provided, that no person shall
contest the election of Common Pleas
Judge. unless he be an elector of the prop
er judicial district. 1ass :lsil epto
-'.SEC. A. That, upon any such notice be-
ing filed as aforesaid, the Senate shall, by
resolution, determine on what day or DAYS
they will meet in their chamber i'm order
to hear and determine any such contest,
and thereupon certified copy of the no.
tice filed by any conteslor shall be served
upon the officer whose election is sought
to be contested, or by leaving copy there
OF. at his last or usual place of residence,
by such person as shall, by resolution, be
appointed, with notice when he is re-
quired to attend in the Senate chamber to
answer the contest.
"SEc. rs. That. on the trial of any con
tested election for any of the Offices in the
forty-third section of this act named 1.-THE
Governor is named in that, section1, the
parties of such contest may introduce either
written or oral testimony, but no deposit
tions shall be read on such trial, unless the
opposite party shall have had reasonable
notice of the the time and place of taking
the same. 900 zIytsis ss's 5f5 7,i 80 -
SEc.4 That inconducting any contest.
ed election for the offices in the forty-Jhird
section of this act named, the following
rules shall be observed, to witt
First on the day and at the
hour appointed for that purpose the Sem
ate, with the proper officers at their usual
place Ofmeeting. Second-Whent the Pres
ident of the Senate is not the acting Cow
ernor he shall preside ;',but when he is the
acting Governor or contestol, the Senate
shall elect Presidentpro tenn. Third-The
parties to the contest shall then be called
by the Clerk of the Senate, and if they an
Swer their appearance shall be recorded
Fourth-the contestor shall first introduce
his testimony, and then the officer elect
shall introduce his, and after the testimony
is gone through on both sides the contes-
tor may, by himself-Or his counsel, open
the contest: and the officer elect may then
proceed, by himself or counsel, to make his
defense, and the contestor be heard in re-
ply. Fifth-After the arguments are thus
gone through by the parties, any member
of the Senate shallbe at liberty to offer his
reasons for the vote he intends to give.
Sixth-The Clerk of the Senate shall Keep
"a regular journal ofz-the proceedings.
.Seventh-The manner lofstakihg the decis-
ion shall be by an alphabetical call of t lie
members. and a majority Of all the votes giaen
shall decide; the President of the Senate
when acting as Governor, the person hold
ing. the seat, or 'contestor, not being per-
mitted to vote, either upon the final decis-
ion or upon any preliminary question that
has any reference thereto.n tlid s-aaae