The Portland daily press., 1876-11-11
The Electoral Vote.

The Electoral Vote.
The electoral situation is apparently men
acing one. That the Republicans have car
| ried South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana
on an honest vote is not to be doubted. But
Democrats are already threatening that the
House will on the canvass of votes in Feb
ruary throw out the votes of these states.
Such an attempt would mean revolution. 1t
would be an extraordinary and high-handed
proceeding to go back of the returns by Gov
erno.s and canvassing boards to decide tor
whom the electoral votes are cast, unless
there was great and positive evidence of
fraud. 1t would too, be in defiance of the
much-vaunted Democratic regard for the re-
served rights of the states; but then consist
ency is jewel which Democracy does not
schedule among its assets.
No provision has yet been made for the set
tlement of dispute like the one which
threatens, though Senator Morton, with wis
dom and foresight now justified by the event,
has long struggled for the enactment of such
a provision, All the existing laws are these :
Section 1, Article II, of the Constitution
directs that teach State shall appoint, in
such manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct, a. number OF electors equal to the
whole number of Senators and Representa-
tiyes to which the State may be entitled in
the Congress, but no Senator or Represent
ative, or person holding an Office of trust or
profit under the United States, shall be ap.
pointed an elector."
The Twelfth Amendment of the Constitu-
tion provides that the electors "meet in their
respective States, and vote by ballot for Presi-
dent and Vice President, one of whom shall
not ue an inhabitant of the same State with
themselves. And they shall make
distinct lists of all persons voted for as Presi-
dent and for all persons voted for as Vice
President, and of the number of votes for
each; which lists they shall sign and certify,
and transmit sealed to the seat of the Gov
eminent 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 Representatives, open all the
certificates, and the votes shall then be
counted. Tke person having the greatest
number Of votes for President shall be the
President, if such number be majority of
the whole number of electors appointed"
&c.
By acts of 1892 and 1904, as adopted in the
Revised Statutes of the United States, the
following regulations are made:
Sec. 1856. The electors for each state shall
meet and give their votes upon the first We'd
nesday in December in the year in which they
are appointed at such place in each state as
the Legislature of such state shall direct
Sec. 1876. 1t shall be the duty of the execu-
tive of each state to cause three lists of the
and certified, and to be delivered to the elect
ors on or before the day on which they are re-
quired, by the preceding section, to meet
Sec. 1877. The electors shall vote for Presi-
dent and Vice President, respectively, in the
manner directed bv the Constitution.
Sec. 13S The electors shall make and sign
three certificates of all the votes given by them,
each of which certificates shall contain two
distinct lists, one of the votes for 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 furnished to them by direction of the
Executive of the State.
Sec 139. The electors shall seal up the GER
tificates so made by them and certify upon
each that the lists of all the votes of such state
given for President, and of all the votes given
for Vice President, are contained therein.
Sec. 40. 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 majority of them, appoint
person to take charge of and deliver to the Presi
dent of the Senate, at the seat of government be-
fore the first Wednesday in January then next en-
nnff no nnrftH
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. 142. Congress shall be in session on the
second Wednesday in February succeeding
every meeting of the electors, and the certifi-
Gates, or so many of them as have been re-
ceived, shall then be opened, the votes counted
and the persons to fill the offices of President
| and Vice President ascertained and declared
agreeable TO the Constitution.
On several occasions prior to 1869 objec-
tions had been made to receiving the votes of
certain states on account of alleged Irregular
ties, but no such vote was ever formally re-
| jected, In 1854 resolution was adopted by
Congress excluding the electoral votes ol
states then in rebellion, but as no votes were
received from any of them, none were reject.
ed. a precedent was, however, set for the
rejection of the vote of state by joint reso
luton concurred in by both Houses of Con
gress.
When the questions arose during the first
half of the century touching the acceptance
or rejection of the votes of states, the returns
| from which were irregular, long debate;
| sometimes arose which seriously interfered
with the prompt announcement of the result
To cut off such debate, the Twenty-second
Joint Rule Of the two Houses was adopted in
1865, and readopted by each succeeding Con
gress except the present. The following is
the text of the rule:
'If upon the reading of any such certificate
by the tellers aEy question shall arise in regar(
to the counting of the votes therein certified
the same having been stated by the presiding
| officer the Senate shall thereupon withdraw
and said question shall be submitted to tina
| body for its decision; and the Speaker of thu
House shall in like manner submit the sale
question to the House for it's decision, and NJ
question shall be decided affirmatively, and M
votes objected to shall be counted except by th'
concurrent votes of the two Houses, which be
ing obtained the two Houses shall reassemble
and the presiding officer shall then Announce
the decision of the question submitted; and up
on such question there shall be no debate il
either House, and any other question to this oh
ject for which the two House are assembled
may be submitted and determined in like man
| ner."
In 1878 electoral votes were rejected from
several states under this rule, but its opera