Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-11
THE ELECTORAL VOTE.
A BILL REPORTED BY THE
HOUSE LAW COMMITTEE.

The Actien Necessary in the State-The
Joint Session at WashIngton-Each
Vote to be Counted Per Capita-A Linn
it on the Length of the Recesses During
the Count.
WASHINGTON, April 10.-Following is
the text of the substitute reported to the
House to-day from the Presidential Law
Committee for bills relating to the cleo
ton of President and Vice President:
SECTION /. That the electors of each State
shall meet and give their votes on the second
Monday in December next following their
appointment at such place in each State as
the Legislature of such State shall direct.
SEC. ,. That it shall be the duty of the En-
ecutive of each State to cause these lists of
names Of the electors of such State to be duly
ascertained according to the law of the State
to have been chosen to be made and
certified, and to- be delivered as
ton shall be had, to the electors and
before the day on which they are required
by law to meet.
SEC. 3. That Congress shall be in ses-
sion on the second Tuesday on January sue
ceeding each meeting of electors. The Senate
and House of Representatives shall meet in
the hall of the House of Representatives at the
hour Of / o'clock in the afternoon on that day
in joint convention, and the President of the
Senate shall be the presiding officer Of said
joint convention. Two tellers shall be pre-
VlOuSly appointed on tnet saafL OF the senate
and two on the part OF the House Of Represen-
tatiyes, to whom shall be handed, as
they are opened by the President of the
Senate, all certificates and papers purporting
to be certificates OF electoral votes, which GER
tificates and papers shall be opened, pre-
sented and acted upon in the alphabetical
order of the States, beginning with the State
of Alabama, and said tellers having then read
the same in the presence and hearing of the
joint convention shall make a list of the votes
as they appear from said certificates, and the
votes having been ascertained and counted by
the tellerS the result shall be delivered to the
presiding officer of the joint convention, who
shall thereupOn announce the state Of the
vote and the. names Of the persons, if
any, elected President and Vice President
of the United States, and said announce
ment, together with the list Of votes,
shall be entered on the Journals
of the Senate and House of Representatives,
and the presiding officer of the joint cOnven-
ton SHALL as soon as may be, notify said per-
sons of their election to said Offices of Presi-
dent and Vice President, and, if on a call of the
States no objection is made to the return, then
the vote thereof shall be counted and added
to the list of States whose votes are deter
mined. But in case objection has been made
as hereinafter provided. then said return shall
be laid aside to be proceeded with in the same
manner as is hereinafter provided for in the
case Of a double return of votes from State.
All objections to the counting of the vote
of anv State shall be made in writing, and
signed by at least three members of the joint
convention before the call Of said States. said
objection to be placed in the hands of the pre-
siding officer of said joint convention, who
shall present the same on the call of the
State. If more than one return, or paper
purporting to be a return from a State, shall
have been received by the President of the
Senate, then, and in that case, the presiding
officer Of the joint convention shall submit to
the members thereof to determine as to which
is the proper return. and three hours
shall be allowed for debate and the Joint
convention shall then proceed to vote per
capita commencing with the State of Ala
bama, and these votes shall be counted and
added to the list OF votes already ascertaned
of which the majority of the joint convention
shall determine to have been contained in the
proper and legal return.
Section 1 Of the substitute, after prescribing
the manner in which seats for members of the
joint convention shall be arranged, continues:
Such joint convention shall not be dissolved
until the count of the electoral vote shall be
completed and the result declared, and no re-
cess shall be taken for a longer time than one
calendar day, and on the reassem bling of the
joint convention on Saturday after the first
meeting should the count and declaration OF
the votes not have been previously made and
announced, no further other recess shall
be had until the count of the electoral votes
shall be completed and the result declared.