The New York herald., 1876-11-20
Dine culty OF Changing Our Electoral


pectation that it will be, changed within the
ensuing four years. There is as yet no set
tied opinion as to the new forms Of election;
but the change which would best satisfy
average popular sentiment would be to re-
place the Electoral Colleges by direct vote
of the people for the candidates OF their
choice, just as we elect our State governors,
each citizen to give one vote, and the candi-
date receiving the highest number Of indi-
vidual suffrages to be declared elected.
But, unfortunately, this simple, direct and
popular method Of electing the President
is impracticable. 1t will never be proposed
by Congress, much less ratified by the
States, although it is theoretically the fairest
as well as the simplest system that could be
adopted.
The reason why what is best in theory is
impossible in practice lies in the certain op-
position of the smaller States to change
which would diminish their power If the
President were to be elected by direct popu-
lar suffrage, the vote of each citizen count
ing one, the influence of State would be in
exact proportion to the number of its voters,
and very nearly in proportion to its Repre-
sentatives in Congress. States like Della
ware, Oregon, Nebraska, Nevada and Col
omdo, which have only one Representative,
would lose two-thirds; and States like
Rhode Island and Florida, which have but
two Representatives, would lose one-half of
their weight in the Presidential election.
The very smallest States would lose in
q still greater ratio, there being
several whose population does not
entitle them to even one Represen-
tative, the constitution providing that each
State shall have at least one, be its popula-
ton what it may. 1t is certain that the
small States will not consent to a change
which would strip them of the greater part
of their importance, leaving five of them
with less than one-third, two of them with
only one-half and five others with barely
two-ffths of their weight in the Presidential
elections. These thirteen States which have
one, two or three Representatives are more
than sufficient to defeat ON amendment Of
the constitution. It requires three-fourths
of the States to ratify an amendment, and it
is pretty certain that every State having but
six Representatives or less (twenty in ally
would oppose the election of the President
by direct popular vote, to be counted and
aggregated like the vote for governor.
This obstacle is so evident and SO insur-
mountable that nobody has ever advocated
the election of the President by simple
per capita vote Of the whole people. A re-
form of our electoral system has been agi-
tated at intervals for the last fifty years, but
every proposed amendment has recog-
nized the indefeasible title of the small
States to the same proportionate weight
latest Of these plans-that which Senator
Morton has been urging for the last two
years-leaves the relative power of the
States unimpaired, and is even more COM
plex and clumsy than the present system.
While MIR. Morton would abolish the Office
of electors and substitute direct vote
for Presidential candidates, he retains
the substance of the old plan. In
Mr.. Morton's plan each Congressional dis
trict is separate unit, entitled to but one
vote in the final count. The people of each
district would vote directly for the candi-
dates they preferred, and the candidate re-
ceiving the greatest number of votes in that
district would have it scored for him in the
national result. Every Congressional dis
trict would vote in the same way, scoring
one for the candidate who got its majority.
But, as each State would continue to have
two more votes than the number of its
Congressional districts, Mr.. Morton pro-
poses that in each State the vote of the peo-
pie at large shall be counted in the aggre-
gate, and the candidate receiving the highest
number in the whole State be entitled to
two votes. Such plan would be the pres
ent system in new dress. Nothing prac-
tical would be accomplished by it which
might not be attained with greater ease
and simplicity by merely requiring each
Congressional district to elect one Presi-
Dental elector and each State to choose two
electors at large. Practically this is all that
Senator Morton's complex and elaborate
plan amounts to, the mere abolition of the
will Of their own, being too trivial to enlist
the efforts of serious men. The pith Of the
plan is precisely rs if it proposed to choose
the Presidential electors by districts instead
of general ticket.
This plan would as certainly encounter
the opposition of the large States as that of
simple, direct vote by the whole people
would of the small States. New York would
undoubtedly object to it. The most eminent
democrat and the most eminent re-
publican of the State-Horatio Seymour
and Roscoe Conkling-have within q
few days expressed their disapproval;
but neither of them thought ft to
express the real reason why the large
States will oppose the district system. 1t is