The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-11-09
Counting, the Votes.

Concern is expressed in some quarters
about tlretmethoa,o a,of counting the votes
for President and bXice-President, upon
the idea that. the election will be close and
may be attended with possible danger
This anxiety is misplaced, and these fears
may bedsmissed. In the first place, Mr..
Tilden's majority of States in. the electo-
raj college, and of the popular vote, too,
will be so large as to furnish no 'pretext
for dispute. '. : .. ~ =
In the second place, the Constitution
provides the only existing mode by which
the election shall be formally verified T;
for after all, it is nothing more than a
verifcation Of d result already deter
mined. That clause in the Constitution
is explicit enough, when not broken into
fragments. 1t says, Article H.. Section
/:
"The electors, shall! meet in their re-
spcctive; States" and vote by ballot for
two persons, of whom one at least shall
not be an inhabitant of the same Slate
with themselves. And they shall make
a list Of all the persons voted for, and Of
the number of votes for each; which
list they shall sign and certify, and trans
nit sealed to. the seat of the Government
of the United States, directed to the Pres
ident of the Senate. The Senate and
House of Representatives, open all the
certificates, and the votes shall be
counted" y, gog, ,o
The act of March i, 1892, was passed
to carry this clause into effect. It pro-
vides how the electors shall be chosen,
when they shall meet, and towhom their
certificates shall be sent. Also, that
Congress shall be in session on thesecond
Wednesday in February "for the purpose
of counting and declaring the vote" p
The practice has -beenfor the two Houses
to meet in Joint session on that day, and
for the Senate to appoint one teller and
the House two: to. record The votes as
read from the certificates of the electors,
which had been previously directed to
the President of the Senate"
On the 9Th Of February, 1865, the Re-
publican Congress adopted joint rule,
which placed it in the power of either
House to raise objection to the counting
of any vote, and declared "no vote OBJ
iected to shall be counted except by the
concurrent votes of the two Houses. 1t
is easy to see that, with Republican
majority in the Senate aud Democratic
majority in the House, very serious diff
culties might arise in. high party times
like the present.
This Joint rule is now dead, as the
House at last session refused to readopt
it, and with very good reason. So the
count will take place under the constitu-
tional provision above cited, unless the
two Houses should come to an agreement
as to another mode, which is hardly
probable. While no trouble is to be ap-'
pretended, the desperate Republican
leaders who. baye control of the Senate
will stop at no means within reach to re-
tain power. Hence it is desirable, not
only to elect Mr.. Tilden, but to elect him
by so overwhelming vote that the cor
rupt and wreckless managers at WASH
ington will be awed into submission and
silence, and the Administration of Grant
will go down into disgrace, without the
voice of disturbing faction to distract
public attention.