The news and herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1876-1881, 1876-12-07
Tho Method Of Counting the, Electoral
Vote, .
The extreme doubt in which Il

| Vote.
The extreme doubt in which thu
returns received recently left tht
result of tho Presidential election
has made the counting of tho electo
ralvote in February next, likely to be
an event OF very great interest ant
impor tance. On more tha one occa
sion the defects of the machinery
for determining which oftwo or moro
candidates has been legally elcctei
to the Presidency, have been strik
ingly shown, and attempts have bee,
made to remedy them but while
mono of these efforts have met will
success, it has also been fortunate
that on no occasion which has evel
! arisen, has the actual result beer
effected by the vote of any State which
forwarded it's vote and tho validity
OF whose returns has been questioned
Now it seems possiolo tint such u
contingency nay aiso.
No provision has ever been ma de
for settling dispute of this kind
Section l, Article II, of the Consti,
tuition, directs that "cach State shall
appoint, in such manner as the Leg
islaturo thereof may direct, q mum
ber Of electors equal to tho whole
number Of Senators and Representa-
tives to which the State may be en-
titled i'll the Congress- but no Scna-
tor or Representative, or person
holding an Office Of trust or profit
under the United States, shall be ap
pointed al clector."
The twelfth amendment to tho
Constitution provides that the cleo
to 8 'mcet in their respective States,
aid vote by ballot for President and
Vice-Prcsident, one of whom shall
not be an inhabitant of tho same
State with themselves.
And they shall make distinct lists of
all persons voted for as President,
and of 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 government of
the United States, directed to the
president of the Senate. The presi-
dent Of the Senate shall, in the pres
ence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the certifi-
Gates, and the votes shall then be
counted. The person having the
greatest number Of votes for Presi-
dent shall be tho President, if such
number be a ma jority 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 arc made:
Sec. 1876. The electors of each
State shall meet and give their votes
upon the first Wednesday III Decem-
ber in tho year in which they are
appointed, at such place, in each
State, as the Legislature of such
State shall direct.
SEC. 1876. It shall be the duty of
the executive Of each State to cause
three lisGs of the names of the cleo
tors Of such State to be made and
certified, end to be delivered to the
electors on or before the day on
which they ore required, by the pre-
ceding section, to meet.
SEC. 1877. The electors shall vote
for President aud Vice. President,
respectively, in the manner directed
by tho constitution.
SEC. 1873, The electors shall make
and sign three certificates Of all the
votes given by them, each of which
certificates shall contain two dis
tinct lists-one of the votes for Pre-
sident, and the other of the votes for
e-President-and shall annex to
each of tho certificates one of the
lists of electors which shall have
been furnished to them by direction
of the Executive of the State.
Sec. 1870, The electors shall seal
up the certificates 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 Vicc-President, are con
tanned therein.
Sec. 140. Tho electors shall dis
pose of the certificates thus made by
them in the following manner
One. They shall, by writing under
their hands, or under the hands Of q
majority of them, appoint a person
to take charge of and deliver to the
President of the Senate, at tho seat
Of Governments befolo the first
Wednesday in January then next
ensuing, one Of the Gel tificates.
Two. They shall forthwith for
ward by the postofflce to tho Presi-
dent of the Senate, at the scat of
Government, one or the other of tho
certificates.
4 Three. They shall forthwith cause
the other of the certificates to be
delivered to the Judge Of that dist
riot in which the electors shall as
sernble. 5<l''
o"Sec. 142. Congress shall obe In
session on the Second "Wednesday, in
February succeeding every meeting
Of the electors, and the certificates,
or so many of them as have been re-
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