The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1876-11-18

| for Throwing out the Vote OF State-The Pres
dent OF the senates Power.
The extreme doubt in which the return
received left the result Of the Presidential
election has made the counting of the elec
toral vote in February next likely to b,
an event Of very great interest and impor
lance. On more than one occasion th,
defects of the machinery for determinin,
which of two or more candidates has beel
legally elected to the Presidency has beer
strikingly shown, and attempts have beer
made to remedy them; but while none o.
these efforts have met with success, it hai
also been fortunate that on no occasion
which has ever arisen has the actual result
been affected by the vote Of any STATE
which forwarded its vote and the validity
of whose returns has been questioned
Now it seems possible that such contin.
gency may arise.
No provision has ever been made foi
settling dispute of this kind. Section l
Article H., of the Constitution directs
that "each State shall appoint, in such a
manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct, number of electors equal to the
whole number of Senators and Represen.
tatiyes to which the State may be entitled
in the Congress but no Senator or Rep
resentative, or person holding an office Of
trust or profit under the United States,
shall be appointed an elector." /"
The Twelfth Amendment of the Com
stitution provides that the electors shall
'meet in their respective States, and vote
by ballot for President and Vice President,
one of whom shall not be an inhabitant Of
the 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 the Government of the
United States, directed to the President
of the Senate. The President of the Sem
ate shall, in the presence of the Senate
and House of Representatives, open all
the certificates, and the votes shall then
be counted. The person having the great
est number Of votes for President shall be
the 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 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 Legislators of such State shall direct.
SEC. 1856. 1t shall be the duty Of the execu.
tive Of each State to cause three lists of the
names Of the electors of such State to be made
and certified, and to be delivered to the cleo
tors on or before the day on which they are
required, by the preceding section, to meet
SEC. l37. The electors shall vote for Pres
ident and Vice. President, respectively, in the
manner directed by the 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 distinct lists, one of the votes for Presi.
dent, 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
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
givenfor Vice President are contained therein.
SEC. 140. The electors shall dispose of the
certificates thus made by them in the follow.
ing manner:
One. They shall, by writing under their
hands, or under the hands of a majority of
them, appoint person to take charge of and
deliver to the President of the Senate, at the
seat of Government, before the first Wednes.
day in January then next ensuing, one Of the
certificates.
Two. They shall forthwith forward by the
post.ofiice 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 as.
semble.
sSEc. 142. Congress shall be in session oil
the second Wednesday in February succeed.
ing every meeting Of the electors, and the
certificates, or so many Of them as have been
received, shall then be opened, the votes
counted, and the persons to fill the offices of
President and Vice President ascertainsd and
declared, agreeable to the Constitution"
On several occasions prior to 1869 OBJ
jections had been made to receiving the
votes of certain States on account Of al
Legged irregularities, but no such vote was
every formally rejected. In 1864 reso
luton was adopted by Congress excluding
the electoral votes Of States than in re-
bellion, but as no votes were received from
any of them, none were rejected. A pre-
cedent was, however, set for the rejection
of the vote of a State by a joint resolution
concurred in by both Houses Of Congress.
When the questions arose during the
first half of the century touching the ac-
ceptance or rejection Of the vote Of States,
the returns from which were irregular,
long debates sometimes arose which seri-
ously interfered with the prompt announce
ment Of the result. To cut off such de-
bate, the Twenty-second Joint Rule of the
two Houses was adopted in 1865, and re-
adopted by each succeeding Congress ex.
cept the present. The following is the
text Of the rule:
''Ifupon the reading of any such certificate
by the tellers any question shall arise in re
gard to the counting of the votes therein Ger.
tined, the same having been stated by the
presiding officer, the Senate shall thereupon
withdraw, and said question shall be submit
ted to that body for its decision; and the
Speaker of the House shall in Ike manner