Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-11-30
A Primer of the Electoral College.

A reader asks US to explain all about
the Electoral College, heroic request
in view of the popular WEAKNESS of the
whole subject. But there is a large
class at every Presidential election TO
whom it must be a new thing to vote or
to take an interest in the vote, and for
such the subject is always new, and a
proper theme for instruction.
When the Constitution of the United
States was framed, the faith in the
pacity of the common people to decide
upon their destinies was much less
strong than it is now, Hence, in the
election of President, the fathers sought
body of men who should themselves be
the picked of the picked. For the same
reason, the choice of the Senators was
devolved not directly upon the people
but upon the Legislatures of the sew
eral States. In the Presidential cleo
ton, the Constitution therefore provid-
ed a body of Electors, of whom each
State should choose as many as it had
members of Congress and Senators.
Every State has two Senators, and add
ing to them the number of its Repre-
sentatives gives the number of Electors
to which it is entitled. Massachusetts,
therefore, has Is. How these Elect
ors should be chosen, or s'appointed,"
to use the constitutional word, is left
to the Legislature thereof, and if the
Massachusetts Legislature were to au-
thorize the Governor to appoint them
or should proceed to elect them itself,
there would be no objection under the
Federal Constitution. In fact. in many
States the Legislatures have elected the
Electors, though we believe none do so
now. The original idea was, first, to
provide an intermediate electing body
a buffer between the direct will of
the people and the highest office-aRd,
second, to magnify the sovereignty of
the States as taking part in their individ-
ual capacities in the election. 1t is
necessary TO a clear understanding of
the subject to say here that, as a mat
ter of history, the Electors did not meet
these anticipations. From the first there
was a strong tendency to regard them
as so many ciphers, merely represent
ing the will of the people who chose
them they have been compelled to give
up all pretensions to a deliberate and
free choice, and are simply set up to
vote as the people have distinctly voted.
On the second point, State boundaries
seem to have vanished also, and the
people never do a more decidedly ma
tional act than when they elect the
President.
Now, then, the Electors, having been
chosen in each State in November on a
general ticket, to represent the whole
State, and according a. the whole State
has gone for one party or the other,
meet in each State and ballot for Pres
ident and Vice-President, one of whom
must not be a resident of that State.
That is, if both of one party were resi-
dents of one State, the vote of that
State could not be cast for those candi-
dates. This voting is fixed on the same
day in all the States by Federal law,
and will take place, this year, December
6. Lists of the votes are made out and
transmitted to the President of the SEN
ate at Washington, who opens them in
the presence of both houses of Congress
on the second Wednesday of February.
The votes shall then be counted, and
thosetwo having majorities of the Elect
oral College Gas the Electors all togeth-
err are called) are chosen President and
Vice-President. AS there are 1913 MEM
bers of Congress and 73 Senators, the
Electoral College numbers 500, a ma
jority of which would be 185. Hence
Tilden or Hayes must receive, to be
elected, at least lS5 votes.
If two men are thus chosen, they are
inaugurated, according to the law, on
the 4th of March following. If no one
receives a majority for President, the
House of Representatives Immediately
proceeds to elect one, from the three
highest candidates; each State has one
vote. If no one receives q majority for
Vice-President, the Senate must imme-
diately ballot for that officer, %two-thirds
being present and a majority deciding.
If the House should not choose a Presi,
dent by March f., the Vice-President
chosen shall act as President. And il
neither should be chosen, the President
pro tenn. of the Senate would act as
President and order a new election.
This last procedure is a matter of Fed
eral law and not of the Constitution
Springfield (MGss.J Republican.
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