Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1877-02-24
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM.

another PRESIDENTIAL election, there
will be some change in the manner
of electing the President and Vice.
President. All the defects Of the
old method have been brought out
by the late contest. Much has. been
written on the subject within the
last few months, and several plans
have been advocated. Senator Nor
ton, we believe, has favored the plan
Of having electors elected by Con-
gressional districts, and two at large
for each State, Richard II. Dana,
Jr., has lately written AN article on
this subject which evinces clear
thought and deep research. He holds
that the Electoral College system has
had its day, aud has in fact been
perverted from its original design,
which was, that the States should
choose "a number Of Electors who
should themselves choose President
quite independent Of all outside die
tation or influence. But while this
theory has always been preserved in
anominal way, it has never been prac-
tically enforced. From the very in
ception Of the system, Electors have
not chosen President. They have
met and deposited their votes for the
candidate designated by a majority
of the voters in given State. They
we're nominated aud elected for this
simple perfunctory act. The people
express their wishes at the polls, and
ths Electors simply carry out this
wish in casting the Electoral ballot.
Nearly four thousand Electors
have discharged their duty since the
adoption of the present Constitution,
and not one of them has failed to
cast his ballot for the candidate he
had been elected to support. There
hss been no case Of bribery and no
detection among Electors from the
strict line Of political honor. So
much must be set down in
favor of system which in other re-
spects may be very imperfect. The
Electors do not choose President,
although they have legal right to
elect man to that Office who was
never named in connection with it
before the day on which the several
Electoral Colleges met. And yet
ouch deviation, or such AN assertion
IF independence would shock the
whole country.
Mr.. Dana would make Congress
sional district an electoral district.
lie would, also, give to the State at
large two electoral votes, to be elect
ed on general ticket. But, here
comes in his radical change. Why
haye any Electors at all Z They no
longer choose President. The Of
fee is wholly perfuuctory and execu-
tive. Their action is wholly deter
mined by the popular election. The
substitute would be to give to each
State an Electoral power equivalent
to an Electoral vote for each Con-
gressional District, and two for the
State at large. Every Congressional
district would have the equivalent of
one vote, and the record of each of
these districts would settle the facts.
No Returpipg Boards and no Elect
ors. This plan, he argues, would re-
duce the temptations to commit fraud
to a minimum, the possibility not be-
ing so great as under the present
system.
This plan, of course, would In most
States give portion Of the Electoral
vote to each party. Every district
would determine separately the valid
ity of its own election, while the
State would settle the question only
as to the validity of an election in
volving two votes. There would be
no more difficulty in determining the
Electoral vote of district than there
10 now for Determining the Congress
sional vote. And it is claimed that
under the operation Of this plan mi
noritics would have some chance
which they do not now possess. OF
this we have our doubts, for the
general custom Of parties having con-
troll Of State governments Is TO dis
trict the State in such manner IS to
give the minority the least possible
voice in elections, and If Electors
were to be returned by Congressional
districts this abuse Of redistrictinR