Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-12-31
Electoral Blunders.
$. r. Examiner.

The liability to big blunders,
which seems inseparable from the
Electoral College system, condemns
it utterly as an unsafe method of
registering the wishes of the people.
1t is an arrangement that is suscep-
tible of SC much crookedness that it
is pretty nearly always sure to be
worked unsatisfactory when elec-
tons are close, as they are likely to
be for some time to come. The blum
ders made at the last election are
worth recapitulating for the sake of
the lessons they teach.
l. A Democratic Elector was
" scratched" in California aud de-
fcated, whereby one-siXth of the vot-
ing power of the State was lost to
the majority and gained by the min
ority. In 1876 a similar blunder, if
made by the Republicans would have
lost them the Presidency, in spite of
their theft of the Electoral votes of
Louisiana, South Carolina and Flor
ida.
=. Errors were made in return
ing the vote of two of the counties
of this State, in close contest,
would have been surely availed of,
and would have given the Electoral
vote of California wholly to Gar
field.
3. A Republican Elector in Indi-
ana was defeated through his name
being inadvertently omitted from a
number of the ballot papers. The
Democratic elector who was thus
counted in, declined to attend and
cast his vote in the Eectrol College,
and his place was filled by the other
Electors choosing Il Republican col
league, and thus the whole EIector-
al vote was cast as the majority in
tended it should be. If that vote
would have changed the supreme
result, it is not in human nature to
suppose that it would not, in that
case, have been cast, as it legally
might have been, to the advantage
of the Democracy.
4. When the Canvassing Board
of Indiana assembled to make up
the official record and promulgate
the result, the returns of all the
counties in the Eighth District were
missing. The official who should
have been there present, aud vouch
for those returns, was neither pres
ent nor accounted for. 1t appears
that the appointment of the person
to collect the votes in :hat District
was mailed to the wrong Postoffice.
But what law it is that risks the
decision of Presidential election
and tho peace of the nation on any
such change as the instruction or
miscarriage of letter! The law
was imperative that the count should
then and there be proceeded with,
regardless Of the missing returns.
Fortunately. the absence of the votes
from that District did not reverse
the vote of the State, Garfield still
having majority, though IL reduced
one. Had it been otherwise, the
consequences might have been seri-
Gus.
5. The vote OF n whole State, that
of Georgia, which Hancock carried
by large majority, is probably leg
ally lost to him. In drafting the
State law, a blunder was made in
not accurately following the date
prescribed by national law for the
Electoral College. The Electors
were in consequence, misled, and
did not meet and cast their votes on
the lawful day. Whether the vote
of the State is counted or not de-
pends now upon the will of Con-
gress, and not the will of the people.
There is Il precedent for their being
counted. In 1857, the Wisconsin
Electors failed to vote for Fremont
on the day appointed. There was
very heavy snowstorm that kept the
Electors away from the Capitol. The
two Houses of Congress permitted
tho Wisconsin votes to be counted,
Notwithstanding the informality.
But they did not change the result,
or Congress would not have been as
complacent if controlled by the po-
litical party effected by the count.
1t Will be seen that there We're no
less than five grave and serious blum
ders committed in 1880, any one Of
which might have sutficed to have
changed the result, if the election
had been close, Yet this year was
one in which both parties assumed
to take particular care to guard
against errors. twas expected that
possibly and probably, results would
be nearly equally balanced, and,
moreover, the troubles OF 1876 were
calculated to teach the necessity of
great care. Still with all, these nu-
merous errors crept in. Obviously,
such Il system needs mendinp.
Another telegraph war is imminent
between the Western Union and
!