The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1876-12-23
9unalosolrbllle GSlef.
Three Dollars Year.
Couating the Electoral Vote,

CUuAt4HS tAC HAOSOoRuA WY
From a recent letter written by
professional newspaper correspondent
ut Washington, We make the follow
ing extract:
The time seems to have come when
a more definite method OF counting
the electoral vote for President and
Vice President should be adopted.
1t is not unlikely that the contest
NAV turn on the vote of single State,
Inv which event, as fraud will be
charged by one party or the other,
every thing will depend on the ques-
ton whether the vote OF that State
shall be retained or thrown out. The
method of counting the electoral
vote, and the proceedings of the Seu-
ate aud House of Representative in
reference thereto, have heretofore
been prescribed by Rule % of the
Joint Rules of the two Houses. No
Joint Rules having been adopted
by the first session of the present Con-
gress, the method and proceeding in
counting the electoral vote in Feb
ruary next remain to be determined
by the concurrent action and agree
ment of the two Houses at the next
session. The 22d Joint Rule provided
that if the two Houses disagreed on
counting the vote of any State it
should be thrown ont. Under this
rule the process might be kept up
until no candidate had a majority of
all the electoral votes, in which case
the election would go into the House
of Representatives. 1t has been in
timated that the House will now con-
tend, should Hayes be elected, that
tile Joint Rules are still in force.
This is clearly mistake ; for joint
rules can not be joint rules unless
agreed to by both Houses. This
view is sustained by the ex-journal
clerk of the House, John NJ. Barclay,
the author of I" Barclays Digest,
whose opinion on all such subjects is
regarded as infallible by parliamen
tarians on both sides. None of the
Joint Rules being in force, it therefore
follows that either new rule for
counting the vote must be adopted,
or the Constitution alone must be the
guide. In the latter event the ques-
ton will arise, Shall the plain letter
of the Constitution be followed, OF
will precedent govern 2 The New
York Tribune thinks that certain
presidents fixed by usage may go far
toward preventing awkward and even
dangerous complications. The re-
cords show that the President of the
Senate has never attempted TO act as
judicial officer in determining the
validity of State vote; that while
such questions have invariably been
referred to the two Houses of Con-
gress, neither House has ever asserted
its right to throw out State or choose
between two sets of returns, except
under the 22d Joint Rule, which Con-
gress has expressly omitted to re-
adopt that all disputes of this nature
have been decided by the two Houses
acting eoncurrently, though they de
rived no authority to do SO either
from the Constitution or the law. Bat
the President of the Senate may en-
terrain the view that he alone, under
the Constitution is vested with the
sole power of opening and counting
the votes, pointing to that clause of the
Constitution which says that after
the votes are opened "they shall then
be counted The Constitution prob
ably never contemplated the exigency
of an objection to counting the vote
of any State, and simply says the
votes shall then be cOuuted.n 1t does
not apparently mean that he alone
shall count them. 1t is reasonable ia
suppose, however,sin the absence OF
the 22d Joint Rule, that all questions
of this kind arising;would be referred
to the two Houses for concurrent ae-
ton, and that, should majority OF
both Houses. vote against throwing
out the vote of any State, it would
not be counted by the presiding officer
But this system would be quite as
vicious as THAT provided by the de-
funct Odd joint Rule, since objection
might be carried so far as to throw
the election into the House. In The
event of such a rule of action the
counting of the vote will be attended
with imminent danger to the cou ntry
Let us hope that Congress, before
the counting of the electoral votes
may come to some wise and patriotic
agreement whereby the danger of SC
ydeplortble and chaotic a condition
will be averted.