Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1873-10-10
CHANGING THE MANNER OF
CHOOSING A PRESIDENT.


The feeling has been good dea
asserting itself of late that the ole
electoral college plan of electing :
President was needlessly cumbrons
besides being, in practice, something
too far removed from the direc
choice of the voter-a roundabout
sort of proceeding, in fact, that haG
better give way to more simplicity
and directness. 1t being a kind O
semi superstition that the States and
not the majority of all the voters in
the nation should elect, there is a
gingerliness about tackliny the sub
iect from the national standpoint
and proposing to substitute direct
vote of the people regardless of
State lines, for the present system.
This is how it happens that the
somewhat complex plans indicated
in the following come to find express
sien rs a compromise between the
rather meaningless formulas Of the
Electoral, College and the election
by the majority or plurality of the
people of the United States voting
in mass, as it were, at q common
ballot box. Says the telegraph:
Senators Morton, Carpenter and Bay
ard, members of the Committee of
Privileges and Elections of the Senate
of the United States, to-day closed the
conference which has been held for the
past week in this city in reference to
mode of electing President. The sub
stance of their deliberations thus far
involve the following propositions: First |
To abolish the Electoral Colleges. |
Secopd-That the President and Vice !
President be elected by the people vot-
ing directly for the candidates. Third
That each State shall be divided into as |
many districts as the State shall be en-
titled to Representatives in Congress, to
be composed of contiguous territory
compact In form and as nearly equal In
population as may be, and the person
having the highest number of votes for
President in each district. and who shall
receive the vote of that State for Presi-
dent, it shall result in one Presidential
vote: that each State shall be entitled to
two Presidential voters at large, which
shall be counted for the person having
the highest number of votes in the
whole State. Fourth-The person hay
ing the highest number of such Presi-
Dental votes in the United States shall
be President Fifth-These provisions
are to he applicable to the election of
Vice President, The next Congress
shall have power to provide for the hold
ing and conducting of the election for
President and Vice President. and to es-
tahlish tribunals for the decision of con-
tests as to the vote in any district, and
make regulations governing the proceed
ings Of these tribunals. By the adop-
ton of the district system of voting by
the people directly for candidates. with
two Presidential votes in the State at
large and the plurality rule for determin-
ing the result. the election is brought as
nearly home to the people as can be and
not make it an election by the nation as
one community; and it still recognizes
States Us SuCu, " ullt IL tAC PCo-
pie of each district in the States to ex-
press their will, so that hereafter State
need not cast a solid vote as under the
present system. 1t tends to dispense
with the convention, which is now nee
essarv in order to form an electoral
ticket for each State. and it enlarces the
liberty of the individual voter, who can
vote for any citizen he may select for
President or Vice President. BY the
plurality system the election will always
be final, and there can be no necessity
for an election by the House of Repre-
sentafives. which is so much objected to.
The plurality rule has been adopted sIIc-
in all the States of the Union
except four, in the election of State Off
,ers. and it generally prevails in the
Election of members of Congress, and
n none of these States where it has
been tried is there any thought of abar
loning it. Other questions are consid-
cred in connection with tie votes in
States and districts, and providing for
he exigency of the death or resignation
If the President after election and before
These are suggestions
which have been considered, but of
curse no conclusions could be arrived
It.