The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-11-29
Electing A President.

The people of the whole country arc
greatly agitated over the recent action
of the returning Boards Of LouiS;ana
and Florida and Of the C~anvassing
Board OF SUT!.. Carolina. 1t seems
that these boards have deliberately
planned to overthrow the will of the
people IN their expressed desire ut the
ballot box on the eth OF November;
and to advance their ov partizan
ends, the Canvassing Board of South
Carolina have givcr. certificates of
election to the Republican electors of
this State and at .he same time with
held certificates of election from Dem-
ocratic men. oers of the Legislature.
Although Louisiana has given q Dem
ocratlc rnajority of yer eight thou
sand Votes for the Presidential electors,
1t IS alleged that the Returning Board
are. manipulating the vote OF the
Safe so as to throw the influence of
the Pel!c an State for Hayes and
Wheeler. In Florida the difference
between. the Democratic and the Re-
public IN vote is very small, but on
thus ,oard there is at least one man
who has been regarded honest, and it
wa feared by Governor Stcarns that
u - Board would not give the State to
I lie Republicans aud has indicated O
disposition to assume the duty of can-
wasting the votes himself, but i'm this
he has been restrained by the Courts.
The situation now seems to be
South Carolina, through the frauds
of the Canvassing Board has
gone for Hayes; Louisiana, al
though Democratic by a major
ity of eight thousand, from the
treachery Of the Returning Board, is
conceded to the Republicans; the on
ly State that may now be considered
doubtful is Florida, aud unless the
election of q President and Vice.Pres.
ldent is transferred to Congress, we
may not be surprised 10 see Hayes AND
Wheeler inaugurated President ana
Vice-President on the 4th of March.
On the second Wednesday of Februa-
ry when the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives ASSEMBLE to receive the
votes for President and Vice-President
the vote of any State may be excluded
upon proper grounds. and should any
State be objected to there is no election
by the Electoral College, as Tilden
has 81 votes, and lS5, q majority of the
whole, being necessary to a choice,
it would be impossible to elect Hayes.
Congress will then elect the President
and Vice-President, in which event
Tilden would be elected President by
q Democratic House of Representa-.
tives, and Wheeler would be elected
Vice president by q Republican Sen
ate-the votes in each case being cast
by States.
We give some Of the particulars OF
conducting a Presidential election:
I. Electors are to be appointed in
each State, in such name as its Leg
islature may direct.
II. The Electors are to meet, and
give their votes for President and
Vice-President, separately.
III. They are to make distinct lists
of all persons voted for, for each Of the
two officers, which lists they are to sign
and certify.
". They are to transmit these certi-
fed lists, sealed, to the President of
the Senate.
V. The President of the Senate is TO
open all these certified lists in the
presence of the Senate and the House
of Representatives.
vi. The votes are then to be count
ed: the person having the greatest
number of votes as President, If that
vote is q majority of the whole num-
Der of electors appointed, is to be the
President: and the person receiving
the greatest number Of votes as Vice
President, If that number is a MAORI
ty of the whole number of electors APP
pointed, is to he the Vice-President.
VII. If no person has the requisite
number of electoral votes as President,
the President is to be chosen by the
House of Representatives, voting by
States; if no person has the requisite
number Of votes Us Vice-President,
the Vice-President is to be chosen by
the Senate.