Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1877-01-17
THE ELECTORAL COUNT
SPEECH Or
HON. VIM. A. WALLACE,
Delivered In the United States senate,
January sih, 1911.

January sih, 1911.
Mr. Wallace. offer resolution
which ask to have read.
Realized. That the special committee on coun /.
ing the electoral vote be Instructed TO inquire ant
iepcrt to the Senate upon the following PROPOSE
tons;
!. Electors Of President Of the United staiei
are pant Of the machinery of the Federal Gov,
crnment.
4 2. The power to appoint ih' IN is in the States
TO lie rercscd under the restrictions and guaran
tees Of the Federal Constitution.
3. The power TO ascertain who has been elected
President and Vice President II tho United
States by counting the electoral vote Is a quasi.
judicial one. and carries with 1t the right 10 In.
quire and decide what are votes.
4. This power is in the Two Houses acting con
currently as indepen dent bodies.
.. Each House may examine both facts and law
to enable II 10 determine these questions.
!. Are the returns Of the electoral colleges be-
fore them the true reiurnsl
2. Were the votes therein shown to be cast given
by those appointed by the State to the office Of
elector OF President Of the United States
3. Was the appointment Of electors made and
were the votes east In accordance with the pro.
visions and guarantees Of the Federal Conslitu
tom
o. The certificate and seal Of the executive au-
thority Of the state made under the act Of Con.
gress Is p,iB'o I oie proof Of the appointment Of
an elecior by the State. This mode Of proof may
he oyerthiown by the decision of the highest ju-
dcial tribunal Of the proper State or Of the
United States, or " may be contradieied by csi
d,noo OF plain misirke palpahle fraud
When two returns come from State The
two Houses acting concurrently must determine
which is the true return.
5. No electoral vote can be counted without
the concurrence OF DO b Houses.
Mr. Wallace. Mr. President, these
resolutions embody what | believe to
be the law controlling the counting OF
the electoral vote. 10 ascertain what
the Constitution, laws, and precedents
establish upon tins subject is my sole
object in presenting them and in en-
deavoring to oelicit discussion thereon.
When we shall have settled this, our
path Of duty is plain one. Law and
Justice must control and direct our
votes. That safe path may be found
in accordance with these, | do not
doubt. When il is found, partisan bias
and personal ambition must give way
before the high duty Of obedience 10
law.
shall not attempt now to elaborate
all of the propositions ] have made.
My desire is TO get the thoughts in
concise form and to group around them
the arguments in their favor.
That electors for President OF the
United States are part Of the ma
chinery of the Federal Government
needs on proof. They came into exis.
tence with il and their functions relate
solely TO its perpetuation.
The power to appoint them Is given
TO the States by the Constitution, and
the manner of their appointment is
left to the control of the Legislatures
Of the States. That this power and
control can be exercised so as to con.
iiict with the provisions OF the Federal
Constitution will scarcely be contend.
ed. That instrument is the supreme
law, and in this matter us in all else in
which il may conflict with State au-
thorty il is the weigbtier. or the re.
strictions imposed by the Constitution
upon the States and the electoral col
leges the familiar one they cannot vote
for an alien for President is sufficient
here OF the guarantees il is sufficient
to name that which gives to each
State electors equal to the whole num-
ber of Senators and Representatives to
which she may be entitled, so that
while in the House of Representatives
and upon the popular vote Rhode Is.
land and Delaware each stand to Penn
sylvania in the proportion Of | to q,
in the electoral colleges they stand 10
the proportion of 3 to 20. That the
number of votes in the colleges shall
be as fixed by article 2, secticn clause
2, is guaranteed by this provision, and
the States can lawfully appoint no
more.
In the third proposition, which is
that "the power TO ascertain the pop
ular will by counting the electoral vote
is quasi judicial one and carries with
il BY necessary implication the right
TO inouire and decide what are votes"
| cone in conflict with the views ex-
pressed by the Senator from Iowa
| [Judgc Wright in his speech Of the
4th Instant ilo said:
Under no construction, as II seem 10 me. can
II be claimed that Congress In any capacity (cor-
tainy not In ih, absence Of legislation) has judi
cisl powcrs or any other power than to inquire
and declare what the people, through their elec-
tors. on the face of lbe returns have said as TO
their choice for President. In saying this do
not lose sight Of the different theories as to how
this result IL to be reached and who Is TO declare
it, am rufici,nu, understood for my present
purpose, hope, when repeat that, in the ab
sence of some law, there Is no power to investi-
gate and determine whether there was fraud In
this State or that; whether the State law was
w:se or unwise in providing for The organ iKation
OF its returning boards whether hundred men
or a thousand there would have voted differently
tut Tor Intimidation, CORFU iion, violence, or
fraud whether the returning or canyassipg
board ur tribunal in the State reached the true
ieuh IRON all the facts boiore them, or the like.
for, whatever any one may think Ms to any ol The
other powers " the presiding officer or Of The two
Houses acting separately or together, the law, as
gathered irvm the almost " not quite, unbrsken
| prcedents ffom the very foundation of the Gov-
,nment, would clearly seem to teach tina, our
lUw,rs ar, puieiy MINISTERIAL not at all judicial.
II | correctly understand the doc
trincs here assericd, they are, first,
that no power exists IN Congress to
determine "in counting the vote"
whether the State in its action has Vi
Olatcd the Constitution Of the United
States; second, that Congress 10 exc.
cutting its power to count the vote has
no judicial or quasi judicial power, but
that this is power purely ministerial,
and that by reason thereof Congress
can neither act upon any authority
necessarily implied from the principal
power expressly given, nor reject any
return for palpablc fraud or plain mis-
take. Are these doctrines sound The
tribunal (whatcver II may beg which
counts the electoral vote must, from
the very character OF its duties, inquire
and Judge OF alleged lniractions OF the
Federal Constitution. Suppose that in
the joint meeting a Senator objects
that the vote Of n State cannot be coun.
ted for a candidate for President either
because he was not ''natural.born cit
zen" or because be was not thirty
five years of aye, or because he had
not been resident within the United
States for fourteen years, must the
vote still be counted or must the qucs-
uon be met and settlcd2 How met 7
By debate or BY judicial inquiry2 Are
u.. t,nt eoppell.d In ipnuire dQlibpr.