, 1877-01-20
Who Is to Count tire Electoral Vote.

tb-opph many volumes Of annals, debates,
&c We have locked through most Of these
documents and present below a few facts
bearing upon the question, Which seems to
show that the two houses have never sur
rendered their right 10 "eIamine " the elec-
torul vote, and that the Prssident OF The Sen
ate has never exercised OF claimed ;ie poser
= 10 determine ths vaiIGl.s = 5tate rU1e.
We may add that il 10 case has ;he vote q a
State been counted whero either house otjec-
ted.
I. In 17S9 tie Senate had no regular
President, aud chose President P5O te' . tOr
the sole purpose of opening the certificates
and counting The votes" Washington was
known to have been CHOSEN unanimously,
and the count was a mere formality. Iu l'93,
when Washington was again unanimously
I chosen, The House ordered a committee TO
;oin similar one from the Senate, - to ascer-
tain aud report method OF examining the
votes for Pre-. ideut aud Vice President thus
plainly asserting the right Of the two houses
to examine " the electoral vote; and pre-
ci-zlT this sasne phr.=eology WAS used, al
every quadrennial period thereafter, up to and
including the year 1865. when a joint com
mit,ee, also charged to a. r-cerraiu and report
u method Of examining the votes for Presl-
dent aud Vice President framed he famous
tyen,y-sccoud JOINT rule, which was adopted
in both heuses without objection or debate.
! II. In 1888, the record states that the Vice
President - Opened, read and delivered 20 the
telIers appointed for the FurIoss the crF'i-
fioatas Of The electors" and the rel!ers ''hev-
inar examined and ascertaiued the votes, pre-
sented u let Of them 10 the Vice President,
which list he read 10 the Two houses, e.
/ that the Vice President did not assume 10 de-
termne the vote himself.
Ill In 1874. the report says, g the ceTtiti-
Gates were by ,he Vice President opened and
delivered to the tellers appointed for the pur-
/ pose, who, having examined aud usser'aiued
! the number of votes, presented q list thereof
to the Vice President, which was read, - &c
Again DO evidence that the Vice President
thought he had any duty 70 perform except
I to open tie certificates and hand them to the
t,lers 10 ~ examine - On IL 2ayt of the two
( houses.
! ". II. 1861 ;hci iliut o3laHrlftea NJ to rgpoTt
+ method Of examining tie votes," g., fail
cd to agree, and ,hrteuroa it might have
been suypa-ed that the S-aa'e would order
the Vice Pres lyat to open, determine AID
I 1 allre he vote; bat 1t iii ug'Eiag Of he
kind. I, resolved hat it would ak tie
p7eszuce Of the House al / day and hour;
would ask IL to appoint tel!grs to act wi,h
Senate teller, aud so on, and 'La Journal
reads: - The two houses Of Congress ac-
c1rliugly assembled il the Senate chamber,
aud The certificates were by th,- Vice Pre,i-
ent o. e ed aud delivered 90 the tellers, who
having examined and asalriaiued the numter
of votes, prcreutei t. list thereof to the Vice
President, which was read &c.
V. Ia 1863, the assembling Of the two
hou-es, the Vice Pr,siIsu., according to the
language of the juurnal, stated that, pursu-
ant to Law, there had been transmitted to
him several packets, which from the indorse-
ments upon them, appeared to Be the votes Of
the electors OF President and Vice Presi-
dent; that the returns forwarded 10y the
mail, as well as the duplicates -eat by special
messengers, had been receivei iy him in due
time. "You will now proceed, gentlemen"
said he, - o count the votes as the coustitu-
,ion aud law directs" The Vice President
then proceeded To break the seals of the re-
turns, handing each return and It's accom-
panying duplicate, as the seals Of cash were
broken, TO the trl!ors, through he Secretary,
Mr.. 5. Smith reading aloud the rerurBs and
The attes'alions Of the appointmeut of the
electors, and Mr. J. Clay aud Mr.. Il Gris-
wold comparing them with the duplicate re-
tu-n lying before them" The journal then
proceeds: After the teturns had en- ali
examined, without any OF Ijec'ion having
been made to receive any Of the votes, Mr. S
Smith, on behalf Of the ,ellers, communicated
to the Vice President the foregoing result,
which was read from The chair"
VI Before this, in January. 800, Mr.
Ross IN sho Senate, moved "that commits
tee be appoiute1 10 consid5 "he;her any, and
what provisions ougne; 20 be made by law for
deciding dispatcd elections Of President and
; Vice President of the Uuired States and ior
determining the legality o41lsgali,y Of the
yot-y given for those officers in the different
S'ates' The resolution Of Mr, Ross was
sent TO committee. which reported BIZ
which was debated at great length during
the session ia both houses, various'y amend
ed, aud finally failed because the House
would no; agree 10 some Of 'he Senate
: amendr,e,t'. But 10 al the debates, 80 far
as they have been preserved, nc one except
,, Mr.. Piuckuey and one or tao others express
, ID doubt that Congress, unde- the ccas:i-
D tuition, had full control over the matter, to
legis'ate as It might choose.
VII. In 1863, in the Eous5, sr the Iuss-
ton whether the President OF tie Senate OF
e the Speaker Of the House shouA preside in
+ Joint convention, Mr. Randolph urged thai
g The Vice President must preside, . because /;
/ had been the custom, aud also because, by
e the constitution, the Vice President Is to
; open the votes" NJ one otjec,7d 10 these
{ views: aud The JOURNAL replrIs hat On Feb.
: 10, the two houses being IL jon. rneetiag,
: - The President Of The Senate thea proceeded
to open and hand to the telisrs the sealed re-
turns frUTn each State, Nbicl wee seyerally
read aloud BY one of the tsle-7 and no:ed