The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-11-02
A Danger Ahead-Connting the EIecto.
raj Vote.

1t does not seem to be generally known
that there is no provision, constitutional
or legal, which disposes of questions con-
nected with the counting of the electoral
vote. The electors meet at their respec-
tive State Capitols on the first Wednes-
day of December of the year in which
they are elected, vote by ballot for Presi-
dent anu Vice-Prosident, e.nd transmit e.
record Of their votes to the President of
the United States Senate. A law of
Congress provides that the electoral vote
shall be counted by the two houses, in
joint session, on the second Wednesday
in February next succeeding the meeting
of the electors Of President and Vice.
President. But there is no present mode
of determining, by joint action, whether
the vote of any particular State shall be
received or rejected.
What has been known as the Twenty
second joint rule met this difficulty, and
by it the counting has been governed for
the last three Presidential elections. I'm
der this rule, when the two houses as
semble TO count the vote, as soon as any
objection is made to the vote of any
State for informality or any other reason,
the houses separate to vote on the objec-
ticn, each in its own chamber; and if
either House objects to the counting Of
the vote, the vote of the State objected
to IS thrown out. Owing to lack of
concert of action between the two Houses
last winter, iio joifit Iu.es weI5 adopted.
The Senate adopted the joint rules, ex-
cept the Twenty-second, and the House
did not concur. The House suspended
the Sixties and Seventeenth Joint rules.
and the Senate returned the resolution
ata OF hot fho
has not notified the Senate of the adop-
tion of joint rules for the session, there
we're no joint rules in force. u. case of
disagreement about .he count, there is,
therefore no tribunal, at present constitu-
ted, ta decide the question. 49, =
Tie whole power is virtually in the
hands of the President of the Senate, at
present, but the two houses can, Of course,
adopt joint rules next winter. There is
no likelihood, however, that the Repub-
lican Senate will agree TO any rule that
gives the Democratic House the power to
reject the vote of State, and in like
manner the House will not consent to
give that power to tho Senate. These
facts and suggestions were brought out
in the debate in the Senate last spring on
the bill introduced by Senator Morton.
He prepared an Act Of Congress accord
ing to which. in the case of sim
gle disputed return from any State, the
vote should not be thrown out unless by
agreement of both Houses, while in the
case of double sets of returns either
House might reject the vote of the State.
In the course of the debate it was sug-
gested that, as there was no final arbiter,
the country might one of these days find
Itself inro.Yed in a civil war on the ques-
tion of r'l. is elected President Whom
the electoral votes were counted in Feb
ruary, 1873, objections, for different rea-
! SONS, TrTo sIisIss 10 Receiving the ,oto uf
Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas
aud louisiana, In the case Of five votes
of Georgia the objection was TINT the
candidate for whoIa Che were cast were
dead. The objections N the other cases
were on the score of informality or ir7
regularity. Each house, under the Twen-
ty-second rule, considered the objections
The Senate voted to count the vote Of
Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and Louisi-
ana, and not to count the vote of Arkan-
sas. The House concurred as to Missis7
sippi and Texas, and did not concur as
to Georgia, (5) votes of which States
were, therefore, not voted. Very little
attention was paid to this, at the time
because the vote for President Grant WAS
overwhelming but If the election had
there States might have changed its
| sence of joint rule, has no means of
port IL the reception Of ths S6teiof any
State while, if the acting Vice -Presi-
dent should refuse to count the vote of
| anv QIata and Ia IN n hitter purfIaoS .