Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1878-12-26
THE ELECTORAL BILL.
Full Text Of tho Bill az It Passed the
Senate.

CI; W COHyFcS6 u6ScHOtSu. 4udC the eleCClOf6
of president and vice.president shall be ap.
pointed in each state on the first Tuesday
in October in every fourth year succeeding
the election of president and vice president,
and on the same day in October, whenever
there shall be vacancy in both the offices
Of president and vice.president, declared
and certified as hereinafter provided; but no
senator or representative or person holding
al Office of trust or profit under the United
States shall be appointed an elector.
Section 2. Whenever there shall be
vacancy in both the Offices of president and
occurring more than two
months next preceding the first Tuesday in
any month of October than that next pre-.
ceding the expiration OF the term of Office
for which the president and vice-president
last in office were elected, the secretary of
state shall forthwith cause q notification
thereof to be made to the executive of every
state, and shall also cause the same to be
published in at least one of the newspapers
printed in each state. The notification
shall specify the electors of president and
vice president of the United States shall be
appointed in the several states on the first
Tuesday in October the next ensuing.
Section 8. The electors of each state shall
meet and give their votes upon the second
Monday in January next following their
appointment, at such place in each state as
the Legislature of such state shall direct.
Section 4. Each state may provide, by
law enacted prior to the day in this act
named for the appointment of the electors,
for the trial and determination of any con.
troversy concerning the appointment of
electors, before the time fixed for the meet
ing of the electors, in any manner it shall
deem expedient. Every such determination
made pursuant to such law SO enacted be-.
fore said day, and made prior to the said
time OF meeting of the electors, shall be COD
elusive evidence of the lawful title of the
electors who shall have been SO determined
in the counting of the electoral votes, as
provided in the constitution, and as here
matter regulated.
Section 5. 1t shall be the duty of the ex.
ecutive of each state to cause three lists of
the names of the electors of such state duiy
ascertained to have been chosen to be made
and certified, and to be delivered to the
electors on or before the day on which they
are required by this act to meet.
Section 6. Congress shall be in session on
the second Monday in February succeeding
every meeting of the electors. The senate
and house of representatives shall meet in
the hall of the house of representatives at
the hour of one o'clock in the afternoon on
that day; and the president of the senate
shall be their presiding officer. Two tellers
shall be previously appointed on the part of
the senate, and two on the part of the house
of representatives, to whom shall be hand.
ed as they are opened by the president of the
senate, all the certificates and papers pur.
porting to be certificates of the electoral
votes, which certificates and papers shall
be opened, presented and acted upon in the
alphabetical order ut the states, beginning
with the lettor A and said tellers having
then read the same in the presence and
hearing of the two houses, shall make list
of the votes as they shall appear from the
said certificates; and the votes having been
ascertained and counted as in this act pro.
vided, the result OF the same shall be deliv.
cred to the president of the senate, who
shall thereupon announce the state Of the
vote and the names of the persons, if any,
elected, which announcementshall be deem
ed 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
certificate or paper, the president of the
senate shall cali for objections, if any.
Every objection shall be made in writing,
and shall state clearly and concisely, and
without argument, the ground thereof, and
oAoAA w c46ACu Ny az ACdSk Vuc SSuALOE anu
one member of the house of representatives
before the same shall be received. When
all objections so made to any vote or paper
from state shall have been received and
read, the senate shall thereupon withdraw,
and such objections shall be sub.
mitted to the senate for it's de.
cision; and the speaker for the
house of representatives shall in like man.
ner submit such objections to the house of
representatives for its decision; and no
electoral vote or votes from any state from
shall be rejected except by the affirmative
votes of both houses. If more than one re-
turn, or papers purporting to be return,
from a state shall have been received by the
president of the senate, those votes, and
those only, shall be counted which shall
have been regularly given by the electors
who are shown by the evidence mentioned
in section of this act to have been ap.
pointed; but in case there shall arise the
question which of two or more of such state
tribunals determining what electors have
been appointed, as mentioned in section
of this act, is the lawful tribunal of such
electors, and those only, from such state
shall be counted whose title as electors the
two houses, acting separately, shall concur.
rently decide is supported by the decision
of the tribunal of such state so provided for
by its legislature. And in such case OF
more than one return, or paper purporting
to be q return, from state, it there shall
have been no such determination of the
question in the state as aforesaid, then
those votes, and those only, shall be counted
which the two houses, acting separately,
votes of the legally appointed electors OF
nuoh afafo When tho twn hnneon hovo
voted, they shall Immediately again meet,
and the presiding officer shall then an.
nounce the decision of the questions sub.
mitted. No votes or papers from.any other
state shall be acted upon until the obiec.
tons previously made to the votes or papers
from any state shall have been finally dis.
posed~of.
Section Z. That while the two houses shall
be in q meeting, as provided in this act, no
debate shall be allowed and no questions
shall be put by the presiding officer, except
to either house on q motion to withdraw
and he shall have power to preserve order.
Section 8. That when the two houses sepa.
rate to decide upon an objection that may
have been made to the counting of any
electoral vote or votes from any state, OF
other question arising in the matter, each
senator and representative may speak to
such objection or question five minutes, and
not oftener than once; but after such de.
bate shall have lasted two hours, it shall be
the duty of the presiding officer of each
house to put the main question without fur.
ther debate.
Section 9. That at such joint meeting of
the two houses seats shall be provided "a
follows: For the president of the senate,
the speakers chair; for the speaker, imme.
distel y upon his left, the senators in the
body of the hall upon the right of the pre-.
siding officer: for the representatives, in the
body Of the hall not provided for the sena.
tort; for the tellers, secretary Of the senate
and clerk OF the house of representatives,
at the clerks desk; for the officers of the
two houses, in front of the clerks desk, and
upon each side of the speakers platform.
Such joint meeting shall not be dissolved
until the count of electoral votes shall be
completed and the result declared; and no
recess shall be taken unless question shall
have arisen in regard to: counting any such
votes, or otherwise, unless this act, in which
case it shall be competent for either house,
acting separately, in tho manner hereinbe.
fore provided, TO direct . recess Of such
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