The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-01-10
THE ELECTORS.
How the Electoral College Was
Evolved and Improved.
FAILURE OF HAMILTON'S PLAN.

pltted Greatly, but Still Too Intricate
Breaks Down with Jefferson and Burr
The Twelfth Amendment-Preceden In
Counting the Electoral vote-The Una
nimity of 1890.
Alexander Hamilton, at the age of Is,
was popular writer; at II he became
citizen of New York city and student of
Columbia college, and at IS popular ora
tor in behalf of the rights of the colonies. At
10 he was captain; at 20 colonel, aid to and
intimate friend Of George Washington; at 90
a brilliant lawyer and financial writer, and
at 50 first secretary of the treasury of the
United States. In all American history there
IS no other instance Of such precocity, so well
ustained and resulting in Sc much work that
Is both good and permanent Such was the
author of the electoral system of the United
States.
Anticipated and complicated as this system
appears to us now, it is simplicity itself COM
pared with the original design of Hamilton.
He proposed to have the United States
divided into districts according to popu-
lation. In each district the men of property
and permanent residence were to choose a
considerable body of electors. They in each
district were to choose one elector, and these
last electors were to elect governor Of the
United States. The president, or governor,
was to have negative upon all laws and a
qualified negative upon the execution of the
law; to have all the powers of appointment
the president now has and to hold Office dur
ing life unless impeached.
After long debate the convention adopted
Hamilton's plan with many notifications,
the result being this clause in the original
constitution:
each state shall appoint in such manner
as the legislature thereof may direct num-
Der Of electors equal to the whole number of
senators and representatives to which the
state may be entitled in the congress; but no
senator or representative or person holding
any office or place of profit under the United
States shall be appointed an elector. The
electors in their respective states shall vote
by ballot for two persons, Of which one, at
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same
state with themselves, and they shall make
list Of all the persons voted for, and of the
number Of votes for each, which list they
shall sign, certify and transmit, sealed, to the
seat of the government of the United States,
directed to the president of the senate The
president of the senate SHALL in the presence
of the senate and house Of representatives,
open all the certificates, and the votes shall
then be counted. The person having the
greatest number of votes shall be the presi-
dent, if such number be majority Of the
whole number Of the electors appointed; and
if there be more than one who have such ma
jority and have an equal number of votes,
then the house of representatives shall i'm
mediately choose by ballot one of them for
president; and if no person have a majority,
then from the five highest on the list the said
house shall in like manner choose the presi-
dent. But in choosing the president the
votes shall be taken by states, the represen-
tatives from each state having one vote;
quorum for this purpose shall consist of
member or members from two-thirds of the
states, and majority of all Of the states
shall be necessary to choice In every case
after the choice of the president, the person
having the greatest number of votes of the
electors shall be the vice president. But if
there should remain two or more who have
equal votes, the senate shall choose from
them by ballot the vice president"
1t is plain from this language, and the de-
bates in the constitutional convention, that
the trainers did not intend that all the cleo
tors should necessarily be chosen at one time,
and in strict compliance with the constitution
the states might have divided the choice of
electors between the four years intervening
between one election and another; they might
have chosen them in any manner whatever,
and several of the states did for some time
give the choice to the legislatures. 1t is
further evident that they desired the presi-
dent and vice president to be Of different
parties, as each elector voted for two candi-
dates for president, and the one having next
to the highest number should be vice presi-
dent, and as q matter Of fact Thomas Jeffer-
son was chosen vice president by the same
college which made John Adams president,
although they were the respective heads of
the two political parties. Nor was it de-
signed that the people should vote directly
for the persons. 1t was assumed almost with
out argument, and with confidence in hui
man nature which now seems almost sublime,
that the people would put the power out of
their hands to decide who should be presi-
dent, and that the electors, disregarding
their partisan feelings would choose the best
man for president. 1t is almost laughable to
note how soon and how completely this plan
failed.
The congress of the confederation provided
a temporary method of counting the votes
as follows:
"That the electors should meet on the day
fixed for the election of president and should
transmit their votes, certified, signed, sealed
and directed as the constitution requires, to
the secretary of the United States in congress
assembled; that the senators and representa-
tives should convene at the time and place
assigned; that the senators should appoint
ppresidc.t Of the senate for the sole purpose of
receiving, opening and counting the votes for
president, and that after he shall be chosen,
the congress, together with the president,
should without delay proceed to execute the
constitution"
1t will be observed that while the constitu-
ton left an apparent uncertainty as to the
person or persons on whom shauld devolve
the duty of deciding in case there should be
disputed election returns, yet this resolution
shows very plainly that it was the design
that the two houses of congress should act on
that matter as on any other question properly
before them, and such was in fact the prac-
tice until it became matter Of partisan dis
pute in the winter of 1911 The first con-
gress met on the 9th of April, 1889, and pro-
ceeded to organize and act under the above
resolution. OF the first ballot for president
George Washington received every electoral
vote, 60 in all; nor does it appear from any
record we now have that single personal
vote was cast against him in any part OF the
United States; but on the ballot for vice
T1l.w.