The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-11-13
THE ELECTORAL VOTE.

THE ELECTORAL VOTE.
The Method of Counting it-Meeting
OF the Several Electoral Colleges
The. Counting OF the Vote by Con-
gress-Precedents for ThI owing
Out the Vote of u State-The Presi-
dent OF the Senate's Power.
From Fridays Tribune.
The extreme doubt in which the re-
turns received yesterday left the result OF
the Presidential election has made the
counting of the electoral vote in Feb
ruary next likely TO be an event of very
great interest and Importance. On more
than one occasion the defects of the ma
chiuery for determining which of two or
more candidates has been legally elected
to the Presidency have been strikingly
shown, and attempts have been made to
remedy them; but while none of these
efforts have met with success, it has also
been fortunate that on no occasion which
| has ever arisen has the actual result been
affected by the vote of any state which
| forwarded its vote and the validity Of
whose returns has been questioned. Now
it seems possible that such contingency
may arise.
No provision has ever been made for
settling dispute of this kind. Section
/, Article | of the Constitution directs
that "each State shall appoint, in such
manner as the legislature thereof may
direct, a number of electors equal to the
whole number OF Senators and Represen-
| he "a ha n
tied III the Congress; but no Senator or
Representative, or person holding an
office of trust or profit under the United
States, shall be appointed an elector."
The Twelfth Amendment OF the Con-
stitutlon provides that the electors "meet
IN their respective states and vote by
| ballot for President and Vice-President,
one of whom shall not be an enhabitant
of the same state with themselves
! And they shall make distinct lists of all
persons voted tor as President, and Of all
| persons voted for as Vice-F resident and
| of the number of votes for each; which
lists they shall sign and certify, and
| transmit sealed to the seat OF govern
ment of the United States, directed to the
| President of the Senate. The President
of the Senate shall, in the presence of
the Senate and House OF Representa-
YES, open all the certificates, and the
votes shall then be counted. The person
having the greatest number of votes for
President shall be the President, if such
number be majority of the whole num-
Der of electors appointed" &c.
By acts of 1892 and 1904, as adopted
in the Revised Statutes of the Unit ed
States, the following regulations are
| made:
SEC. 1856 The electors for each State
shall meet and give their votes upon the
first Wednesday in December in the
year in which they are appointed, at
such place, in each State, as the Legis-
lature of such State shall direct.
SEC. 1876. 1t shall be the duty of the
executive of each State TO cause three
| lists of the names OF the electors of such
State to be made and certified, ard to
| be delivered to the electors on or before
the day on which they are required, by
the preceding section, to meet.
SEC 1877. The electors shall vote for
President and Vice President, rcspec-
lively, in the manner directed by the
| Constitution.
SEC. l3S. The electors shall make and
sign three certificates of all the votes
piven by them, each of which certificates
shall contain two distinct lists, one of the
votes tor President, and the other of the
votes for Vice President, and shall annex
To each of the certificates one OF the lists
of the electors which shall have been fur
nished to them by direction OF the Execu-
tive OF the state.
SEC. l39. The electors shall seal up tie
certificates so made by them, and certify
upon each that the lists of all the votes
of such state gwen for. President, and
of all the votes given for Vice President,
are contained therein.
SEC l4O. The electors shall dispose OF
the certificates thus made by them IN the
following manner:
One. They shall, by writing under
their hands, or under the hands Of a ma
iority of them, appoint a person TO take
charge of and deliver TO the President OF
the Senate, at the seat Of Government.
before the first Wednesday in January,
then next ensuing, one of the certificates.
Two. They shall forthwith forward by
the post office to the President OF the
Senate, at the seat Of Government, one
other of the certificates.
Three. They shall forthwith cause the
other of the certificates to be delivered
to the Judge of that district in which the
electors shall assemble.
"SEC. l42. Congress shall be IN session
an the second Wednesday IN February
succeeding every meeting Of the electors
and tie certificates, or so many OF them
as have been received, shall then be
onened. the votes counted, and the per-
sons to fill the offices OF President and
Vice President ascertained and declared,
agreeable to the Constitution"
On several occasions prior to 1867 OBJ
iections had been made to receiving the
votes of certain states, on account OF IT.
rerularitles, bus no such vote was ever
formally rejected. In 1864 resolution
was adopted by Congress excluding the
electoral votes of the states then in re-
bellion. but as no votes were received
from sny OF them, none were rejected. A
nrocedent was. however, set for the re-
;ectIon of the vote of a state by JOINT
resolution concurred in by both house:
OF Congress.
When the questions arose during the
first half of the century touching the &C
ceptance or rejection of the vote o.
States. the returns from which were IT
reonlsr long debates sometimes arose