The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-06-23

By the first section OF the act OF March 10,
amendments shall be suomitied to the electors
OF the State at the elf elton to be hOlfen on the
first Monday In April, 1881, for their adoption
or rejection. Section third provides that:
ANY qualified eIector at the time he votes for
officers, or such election, II he dies not 0te
for any officer, may vote for or against any
in the ballot box" The same section also pro-
vides that: II majority of the els ctors snail
then ratify any Of the said amendments, the
same shall be q part of the Constitution, but
no elector shall vote more than once. and IL be
votes for any officer, shall, at the same time,
vote on such amendments. (Acts 1879, 81 .
The above statement shows that by the act
Of Congress 1t required "a majority of rhe
whole number elected" OF the members OF the
Convention 10 decide upon the expectancy OF
adopting the Constitution Of 1916; ant that by
the act OF the Indiana Legislature It required
"a majority OF the votes polled at such cleo
tiOa" to adopt the Constitution Of 1851. II also
appears tina. Il required "a majority of all the
votes cast to retify article IL of tine
Constitution OF 1851, which was submitted TO
the electors as separate proposition; and that
It required "a majority OF the members cleo ed
10 each of the two Houses of the General AS
sembly, at two successive regular sest ions, to
propose an amendment or amendments to the
Constitution" aud when so proposed sit shall
NIT such amendment or amendments to the
electors OF the State, and If msjortty OF said
electors ratify the same, such amendment or
stitution. >" And by section p of article 4, of
the Constitution, IL requires "a majority OF all
tue members elected to each House" to pass a
we can fiud no authority, either in the Con-
st.tution OF 1916, or In the constitution OF 1851
or In the legislative acts upon the subject, by
which a Constitution. or any OF It's separate
artic 'es, or any amendment thereto, could be
adopted or ratified by plurality of the votes
OF the electors, or by one less number than a
majority of the whole number cast at that
election. If there were any doubts OF the con-
struction, upon its face. OF the section under
which the amendment before ms was proposed,
they would disappear upon the examination
of the debates in the Convention which formed
the Constitution The proposition was first
introduced substantially IN the words In
which 1t ultimately passed. After receiving
some discussion and several amendments, IL
referred 10 the Committee ION Future
Amendments to the Constitution" This
Committee reported a section as follows:
That whenever two-thirds OF all the
General Assembly shall think it necessary 10
call a Convention to alter or amend this Con-
stitution they shall recommend to the electors
Asst moly to vote for or against q Convention,
and If IL shall appear that majority of ell the
electors Of the state voting Tor Representa-
tives have voted for a Convention, the Gem
ergl Assembly shall at their next session call a
Convention for the Ipose of revising, alter
ing, or amending this Constitution" A Sec
thirds OF the members OF the two Houses OF the
General Assembly to propose amendments 10
the Constitution, and when thus proposed to
submit them "to the people at the next gen.
eral election for their adoption or rejection in
such manner as may be prescribed by law;
and IL majority of all the electors voting at
said election for members of the House of
representatives. shall vote for such amend
nent or amendments, the same shall become
part of the Constitution"
Mr.. Owen, of Posey, prepared a substitute in
almost the exact words in which IL now
stands in the Constitution. This substitute
was fully discussed by leading members of tue
Convention, aud aec epied by a large msjOrity.
Ii was then put upon its passage, carried, and
referred TO the Committee on Revision. This
Committee changed the nlraSeOlOUV of the
section slightly by substituting the words
general Assembly" for the words "Senate
and House of Representatives." and the word
"electors" in one instance ins tead of the words
"quaIified voters" and IT was then adopted as
ISL z COnst. Debates, LIS, 1850, l,glS ,9lS,
l,9sS, l,9iO)
This examination of the Constitutional de-
bates shows the affirmative sense OF the Con-
ventton to have been that amendments to the
Constitution could be adopted only by the ma
jOrity of electors of the state. The proceed.
1ngs also show US that a contrary proposition
was ultimately rejected. The section, as first
introduced by Read, OF Clark, required "a
majority of the qualified voters" TO adopt an
amendment 10 the Constitution. Stevenson
moved to amend the section bv lnsertiug the
words, "a majority of all the votes cast for and
against the same" This amendment was &C
cepted, and in that form the section was re-
ferred TO the Committee, and reported 10 the
Convention, as we have seen. without the
Stevenson amendment. Mr.. ovens amend
ment, still without the Stevenson amend
ment, as we have also seen, was substituted
for the section reported by the Committee,
and became a part of the Constitution. e
Const. Debates, 1 ,Z5S- go
We may thus ascertain the expressed inten-
tlon OF the trainers of the Constitution, af-
irmatively, that IL should require a majority
of all the electors Of the State to adopt an
amendment to the Constitutions; and also
their expressed intention, negatively, that "a
majority OF all the votes cast for or against the
same" unless such majority was a majority OF
all the electors, should not be sufficient to
ratify an amendment The act of the Legis
Lot hxyxr feh fha rna Mt md on
sldeiation was submitted 10 the electors of
the State for their ratification or rejection, in
this respect followed the Constitution and
affirms the same principle. The title of the
act Is: IAN act providing for the submission
TO the electors of The State OF Indiana for rati-
fication the constitutional amendments pro-
posed, etc and II dec AIRED that ''lf a majority
OF the electors should thus ratify any OF said
amendments, the same shall be part of the
A distinction VIII be observed in the Consti
tuition az well as in the acts of the Legislature
between voting to adopt the Constitution or
to ratify an amendment to the Constitu-
ton aud voting to elect officers. The
Constitution requires majority of all
tue votes to Iatiiy an amendment, but
to elect IN officer il REQUIRES only the highest
number of votes. or a plurality. sections
4 and of article of the Constitution. provi-
ding for the ele ctiOn of Governor and Lieuten-
ant Governo ,, declare that in voting Tor Gov
ernor, the electors shall designate for whom
they vote as Governor, and for whom as Lieu
speciively having the highest number of votes
for Governor shall be elected. This difference
in language between the highest number of
votes, aud majority of all the votes, is not
the mere accident OF com position; the words
are used advisedly. SO the Legislature, doubt
less, can provide by law for the election of
officers. or the ratification of a CJnstitu-
tional amendment, by plurality OF votes
where there is no Constitutional prohibition.
Section of article OF the Constitution, pro-
viding for the election of Supreme Judges,
declares that zone of said Judges shall be
elected from each District, ana reside therein
but said Judge shall be elected by the electors
of the State al large" In this provision In
reference 10 the election OF an officer, the word
"majoIiLy" OF the electors is not u ed as IL is
in the section in reference to the ratification
OF an amendment 10 the Constitution. We
must suppose that the trainers of the Constt-
| tuition ms ant just what, in plain words, they
said; and that the people who ratified their
| labors undeIs stood them in the same sense.
In The fifteenth clause OF the schedule of the
Constitution, authorizing a new County TO be
created out OF the territory contiguous to the
Counties of Perry and Spencer, IL Is provided
I that, sif a majority of all the votes given al
said e ection shall be in favor of the organiza-
ton of said new County, IL shall be the duty Of
the General Assembly TO organize the same.
/ In the Constitution, and throughout the legis
| lation OF the state, we believe without excep
ton, whenever sjoriiy of all the votes Il
required To carry a measure, IL Is SO stated In
! subsfanffal words. and when a luralfty O