The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-01-26
HOW THE VOTE WILL BE
COUNTED.
The Two Committees Agreed
al Last,


> at Last,
! The COMMITTEES of the tw,
Houses Of Congress, have agreed
on the following bill to count tn,
Presidential vote:
A bill 10 prouide for and regulate til
counting Of 0otcs for President an,
Vice President, and the decision 0
questions arising thereon, for the tern
commencing March 4h, A. d. 1877.
Be it enacted &c. That the Sen
ate and House of Representative
shall meet in the Hall Of the
House of Representatives at The
/ hour of one o'clock p. m, on the
, first Thursday of February A. D
1871, and the President of the Sen
ate shall be their presiding officer
Two tellers shall be previously
appointed on the part Of the Sen.
ate, and two on the part of the
House of Representatives, ia
whom shall be handed, as they are
opened by the President of the
Senate, all the certificates of the
Electoral votes, which certificates
and papers, shall be opened, pre-
sented and acted upon in the al,
phabetical order of the States, be-
ginning with the letter A; and
said tellers, having then read the
same in the presence and hearing
of the two Houses, shall make a
list of the votes as they shall ap-
pear from the said certificates and
the votes having been ascertained
and counted, as in this act provi-
ded, the result of the same shall
be delivered to the President of
the Senate, who shall thereupOn
announce the state of the vote,
and the names of the person, if
any. elected, which announce.
ment shall de deemed a sufficient
declaration of the persons elected
President and Vice President of
the United States, and together
with list of the votes, be entered
on the journals of the two Houses,
Upon such reading Of any such
certificates or paper when there
shall be only one return from a
State, the President of the Senate
shall call for objections, if any.
Every objection shall be made in
writing, and shall state clearly
and concisely, and without argu-,
ment, the ground thereof, and
shall be signed by at least one
Senator and one member of the
House of Representatives before
the same shall be received. When
all objections so made to any vote
or paper from a State shall have
been received and read, the SEN
ate shall thereupon withdraw,
and such objections shall be sub
mittcd to the Senate for its decis-
ion /; and the Speaker Of the House
Of Representatives shall, in like
manner, submit such objections
to the House of Representatives
for its decision; and no Electoral
vote or votes from any State, from
which but one return has been re-
ceived, shall be rejected except
by the affirmative vote of the two
Houses. When the two Houses
have voted they shall Immediate
ly again meet and the presiding
officer shall then announce the
decision of the question.
SEC. 2. That if more than one re-
turn or paper, purporting to be
return from a State, shall have
been received by the President Of
the Senate, purporting to be the
certificates OF the Electoral votes
given at the last proceeding cleo
tons for President and Vice Pres
ident in such State, unless they
shall be duplicates Of the same
returns, all which returns and pa
pers shall be opened by him in
the presence Of the two Houses
when ct as aforesaid, read by
the tel 9, and all such returns
and pagers shall thereupon be
submitted to the Judgment and
decision as to which is the true
and lawful Electoral vote of such |
State, of q commission conducted
as follows, namely: During the
session of each House on the
Tuesday next preceding the first
Thursday in February, 1877, each
House shall by a Uiud voce vote APP
point five of its members, who
with the five Associate Justices of
the Supreme Court Of the United
States to be ascertained as here
matter provided, shall constitute
a con. mission for the decision of
al questions upon or in respect |
of such double returns named in
this section. On the Tuesday next |
proceeding the first Thursday in
February, A. d., 1877, or as soon
thereafter as may be, the Associ-
ate Justices Of the Supreme Court
Of the United States now assign
ed to the first, third, eighth and
ninth circuits shall select in such |
manneras a majority Of them
shall deem fit, another Of tho As
sociate Justices of said Court,
which five persons shall be mem,
bers of said commission, of said !
five Justices shall be the Presi.
dent of said commission. The |
members of said commission shall
respectively take and subscribe
Al. n, l1.,,,; oatb. 81 dn aolnmn.