Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-02-28
THE BLECTIO.r OF PRESIDENT
.s,vD COT.y'T OF TEER VOTES.

The details of the count OF tho votes for
President and Vice President at Washing
ton, last Wednesday, brought sharply be-
fore the country the dangers and difficult
ties that environ the present system of as
certainng who is elected President. The
electoral system Is awkward enough of it.
SELF when no controversy arises as to the
election of the electors, or as to the regular
ty OF their action and the force to be Civ
en- to the certificates of their votes. But
when, as turned out last Wednesday, the
vote of one State (Lousana) is rejected be-
cause there was no valid election in the
State, and the vote of another (Arkansas) is
thrown out because of informality in the
certificate, and three votes Of another State
(Georgia) are not counted because given for
a dead person, it becomes apparent that the
present machinery for counting electoral
votes is not only most clumsy and imper-
feet, but capable Of being used, not TO de-
clare who is elected by the people but to
elect President and Vice President who
have not been chosen by tho people. We
say this BECAUSE manfestly, majority of
the voters of Arkansas as we'll as of Louisi-
ana gave their votes for either the Grant or
the Greeley electors and the three votes
of Georgia excluded from the count repre-
scented confessed majority of the voters of
that State and these votes, thus rejected,
might have been, in q closer contest deci-
sive of an election. Besides, should be
noticed that while the House decided to
| count the vote of Arkansas, the Senate did
not concur in this action, and the vote
| could not be counted, under the 22d joint
rule; and while the Senate voted to count
the three votes for Mr.. Greeley in Georgia,
the House by majority of only four. vot-
ed not to count those votes, and they were
accordingly thrown out negative vote in
one House thus availng to reject the vote
of any State. 1t thus was very prominent
| ly made apparent that under the present
wretched system Of counting the electoral
| votes, it is in the power of either House of
Congress, not only without the concurrent
action of the other, but against its protest,
to throw out the vote of any State and 1t
requires no gin of prophecy to be able to
predict that In a close presidential election,
such power, If used, would bring on a
revolution. Senator Sherman has already
introduced resolution to repeal this most
dangerous joint rule; but If this should
pass, it would only partly remedy the evil.
There would still remain the necessity of
regulating by law the count of the electoral
votes land whoever attempts such legs-
laton will find it beset with difficulties.
The truth il, the entire machinery of the
presidential election, needs careful revi-
sion, beginning with tho constitutional
provisions on the subject. Senator Morton,
some weeks since made full and able ex-
animation of the whole subject in n speech
delivered In the Senate, and which attract
ed much attention in tho country. The
Committee on Privileges and Elections OF
tho Senate, of which Senator Morton Is
chairman, has been charged with the duty
of considering what amendments to the
constitution on the subject are desirable
and the scene witnessed at the capitol last
Wednesday, will be likely to impress up
on that committee the importance of early
action. We trust they will be prepared to
report some definite plan at the beginning
OF the next Congress.-F Freeman.
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